Reebok will "become the exclusive apparel outfitter" for UFC fighters, with a six-year deal worth around $70M, according to a source cited by Mark La Monica of NEWSDAY. Starting next July, all UFC fighters "will be wearing Reebok gear during fight week and inside the Octagon." Fighters "will be given Reebok gear to wear at open workouts, news conferences, weigh-ins and inside the Octagon on fight night." Gone will be the "appearance of outside sponsors during fight week." Fighters with individual sponsorships "still can wear those companies' logos and apparel outside of fight week and do paid appearances in such attire," but just "not during fight week." UFC fighters will have "several different choices of shorts to wear in the cage." UFC co-Chair & CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said that fighters "will have input into the designs on both a visual and a performance level." La Monica notes also "going away inside the Octagon will be the sponsor-laden banners a fighter's cornermen unfurl behind a fighter during his introduction." UFC Chief Global Officer Garry Cook said there will be "four or five" spots available on a fighter's shorts for sponsors. However, La Monica notes those sponsors "would come through the UFC, with fighters getting a cut of the deal." Cook said that if a company "wanted to buy sponsorship for a particular fighter, they also would have to take space on fighters in other tiers" (NEWSDAY, 12/3). MMA JUNKIE's John Morgan reported Reebok is "expected to roll out its retail component of the new venture in July," with "a few teaser announcements" expected earlier in the year. Fertitta said Reebok's deal with the UFC is "the same level, if not a bigger commitment" than the company's deal with CrossFit (MMAJUNKIE.com, 12/2).
WHERE THE MONEY GOES: UFC President Dana White said that all initial profits from the deal "will go directly to the approximately 500 rostered athletes." ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto noted the pay structure "will allocate funds per fight, based on a tiered ranking system." Champions will "receive the largest payment, followed by fighters ranked Nos. 1-5, 6-10, 11-15 and unranked." In addition to per-fight payouts, UFC fighters will receive 20% of "any merchandise sold with their name or likeness." Fertitta said that those "will include currently retired fighters who inspire customized lines." Fertitta: "They will receive royalties on apparel sold. Certainly that would include for the rest of their life. ... There are plans to bring back 'legends of the sport' -- guys that are already retired. We will create kits for them" (
ESPN.com, 12/2). YAHOO SPORTS' Kevin Iole wrote, "The UFC struck the deal with Reebok to bring aboard a blue-chip sponsor that should improve the appearance of the product on television and help increase awareness." Being able to "go to Macy's or Sports Authority to buy a Johny Hendricks shirt or a T.J. Dillashaw cap will only help increase the marketability of the sport and those involved in it." There will be "a lot of Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones, Vitor Belfort, Anderson Silva and Cain Velasquez apparel sold, but probably not much merchandise with the likenesses of, oh, Walt Harris and Bubba Bush." It is "probable that 20 or 25 fighters will sell a ton of branded apparel and that the vast majority of fighters will sell next to nothing." It is a "good deal for the UFC, though, because for every piece of branded apparel sold, from shirts with the biggest stars to shorts with the logo of the most junior fighter, the UFC will get a cut" (
SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/2).
TIDES ARE CHANGING: MMA JUNKIE's Ben Fowlkes wrote, "It’s about to be a brave new world out there in the octagon. Will it be a better one?" A few years ago, it was "normal to hear about UFC preliminary-card fighters who made more in sponsor money than they did in fight purses." For a variety of reasons, the sponsor market "is nowhere near as lucrative as it once was." The current rankings system is, "to put it mildly, flawed." Policies regarding "who gets pulled, when, and for what, seem vague at best." Now that these rankings "will have a direct impact on fighters’ paychecks, that issue is even thornier for those media members still participating in the process." Ranking fighters is "already a speculative, imprecise, messy business." Now, it will "help determine how much money fighters take home, which ought to worry them." Fowlkes: "If they don’t like the Reebok gear or the structure of the deal? Tough. You’re already under contract to the UFC? You don’t get much say in the matter. ... But hey, that's how other major sports work" (MMAJUNKIE.com, 12/2).
