sign em young, take a % of their lifetime proceeds

SeattleFightFan · 04-27-2009, 02:12 PM

Hello fighters,

I was reading - TEAM TAKEDOWN TAKES UNIQUE ROUTE TO SUCCESS - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more, and I've been wondering for a few years how common these types of deals are.

Mike Tyson is the easiest example in boxing. When he was 13, he got in trouble with the law and went upstate to a "boys town" type school to train under Cus. Cus clothed him, fed him, trained him, and got fight proceeds for the rest of his life. It works for Tyson for obvious reasons (until he gets rich & sues of course). It works for Cus because if only several guys make it huge, the payback is millions, allowing them to continue the program.

More recently, basketball schools have been popping up in Europe that do the same thing. They get maybe 200 kids that have potential, and if a few of them make it big (e.g. Dirk Nowitzki), they can continue. I'm pretty sure Dirk's prep school gets half his proceeds for life.

So I ask you; is this common in the MMA world (yet)?

Thanks.

FREE BEER! · 05-13-2009, 11:04 AM

The Boston Bruins signed Bobby Orr when he was 12.
$1,000 bought the rights to his whole team.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Orr#Early_life

Bob Probert · 08-06-2009, 10:18 PM

I dunno if its such a good idea. Lots of the kids won't make it big and its sad to say lots of "those kids" are tommorows fuck ups, futre convicts. I don't think teaching them how to break somebody's arm, choke someone out cold, knee someones face in would be the smartest thing in the world. A friend of mine is a social worker and some of the stories she tell's me about some kids in today's society....is just fucking scary. The last thing they need is MMA skills.

Joey Juarez · 08-07-2009, 12:04 PM

I haven't heard about it in the MMA world yet. The only example I can think of is a young kid starting Jiu Jitsu, years of training with the instructor, becoming the top student eventually earning their black belt, then opening an affiliate school while paying a % back each month. Nothing as far as paying a percent of a fighters lifelong earning

pittelp · 08-07-2009, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeattleFightFan

Hello fighters,

I was reading - TEAM TAKEDOWN TAKES UNIQUE ROUTE TO SUCCESS - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more, and I've been wondering for a few years how common these types of deals are.

Mike Tyson is the easiest example in boxing. When he was 13, he got in trouble with the law and went upstate to a "boys town" type school to train under Cus. Cus clothed him, fed him, trained him, and got fight proceeds for the rest of his life. It works for Tyson for obvious reasons (until he gets rich & sues of course). It works for Cus because if only several guys make it huge, the payback is millions, allowing them to continue the program.

More recently, basketball schools have been popping up in Europe that do the same thing. They get maybe 200 kids that have potential, and if a few of them make it big (e.g. Dirk Nowitzki), they can continue. I'm pretty sure Dirk's prep school gets half his proceeds for life.

So I ask you; is this common in the MMA world (yet)?

Thanks.

I don't believe so...

It's too risky to be common.

**Sinister** · 08-08-2009, 10:30 PM

Quote:

I dunno if its such a good idea. Lots of the kids won't make it big and its sad to say lots of "those kids" are tommorows fuck ups, futre convicts. I don't think teaching them how to break somebody's arm, choke someone out cold, knee someones face in would be the smartest thing in the world. A friend of mine is a social worker and some of the stories she tell's me about some kids in today's society....is just fucking scary. The last thing they need is MMA skills.

I have to disagree with this. If this were true, then every crazy person who went into the Military would be a mass murderer based on their skillz. It doesn't quite work out like that, and this sort of mentality is also what takes basic recreation and programs with marked success such as Boxing and lifting weights away from prison inmates, who while they aren't physically stronger anymore, are not bored out of their skulls and thus, far more volatile. It never occurred to Correctional Facilities to perhaps ramp up the physical requirements necessary to work, as opposed to being afraid of an inmate who can bench 300+ or throw a good 1-2.

Besides, isn't that a bit condemning? To basically convict the idea of what could be a helpful program based on that there's going to be some bad apples? Sounds like a slippery-slope argument to me. Why not stop teaching chemistry in high school? Bound to be come better-educated meth addicts who get a leg-up.

All that said I don't know about the "lifetime earnings" thing. This isn't a team Sport where the window of a career is relatively predictable, and so is the basic earning level once you decipher how good someone is or isn't. Combat Sports are a completely different animal altogether. There's not one contract, there's one for every Fight. There's not one Governing body federation-style, there's one for every State and/or Country who have to be dealt with. There's no player unions. There's no way to know what a lifetime earning could possibly be, and it just sounds like stipulations like that could lead to ugly legal situations in every direction.

discount81 · 08-23-2009, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Probert

I dunno if its such a good idea. Lots of the kids won't make it big and its sad to say lots of "those kids" are tommorows fuck ups, futre convicts. I don't think teaching them how to break somebody's arm, choke someone out cold, knee someones face in would be the smartest thing in the world. A friend of mine is a social worker and some of the stories she tell's me about some kids in today's society....is just fucking scary. The last thing they need is MMA skills.

I think learning martial arts has a positive effect on a lot of peoples lives, I know I saw it at my BJJ club a few times.
Some hero comes in and thinks he's a tough guy, when we roll he's really aggressive and might overpower a few white belts, pumps his ego up even more.
Then he rolls with a blue belt... is completely humbled in 10 seconds flat.

Eventually they learn humility, respect, honour, self worth and gain confidence which imho is the point of martial arts.

Plus if they have a martial arts school to attend it gives them something to do, less boredom.