Randy Couture: MAYWEATHER makes more $$ than all UFC fighters...combined
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How does humans loving violence drive capitalism to a whole new level? Shit goes all the way when people watched (and enjoyed) Christians being fed to the lions. And yes, if that were around today I'd pay $59.95 to watch it on PPV.
No one is saying we don't agree with you on this point. Yes, (some) athletes are vastly overpaid. That's not the point of the thread though. The point is that some people believe the UFC isn't sharing that generated money with the fighters.
Again, this isn't the point. If it were up to me a garbage man would make the same amount as a doctor and a doctor would make the same amount as a Floyd Mayweather and Mayweather would make the same as a teacher and teacher would make the same as a janitor and a janitor would make the same as a politician. equal pay across the board in my world.
No one is trying to sway your opinion that some athletes are making rediculous amounts of money and that isn't fair. But the point, again, is that the UFC is making a lot of money and not distributing that money fairly. So there are a lot of fighters that aren't making SHIT in the UFC
No one is saying we don't agree with you on this point. Yes, (some) athletes are vastly overpaid. That's not the point of the thread though. The point is that some people believe the UFC isn't sharing that generated money with the fighters.
Again, this isn't the point. If it were up to me a garbage man would make the same amount as a doctor and a doctor would make the same amount as a Floyd Mayweather and Mayweather would make the same as a teacher and teacher would make the same as a janitor and a janitor would make the same as a politician. equal pay across the board in my world.
No one is trying to sway your opinion that some athletes are making rediculous amounts of money and that isn't fair. But the point, again, is that the UFC is making a lot of money and not distributing that money fairly. So there are a lot of fighters that aren't making SHIT in the UFC
You might have an arguement if we were involuntary taxed to suport an atheletes salarary, but in the world be live in, they are volunatary paid by people who want to see them.
If you don't want them to get paid, don't pay them. The decision is in your hands just like it is in everyone else in the worlds hands. The only problem is that if you decide they shouldn't be paid and 50 million other people decide they are willing to pay them, the athlete is going to be paid.
I don't really agree that this is "capatilism" at its finest, its simply human nature and supply & demand. Great athletes are in limited supply, people want to see great athletes compete, not everyone can watch athletes compete at the same time, people who want to watch more than the next man are willing to pay more money to do so....who should that money go to?
In your opinion, should rappers not be paid either because they are really just being paid to be in an glorified poetry class?
You just answered your own question.
Fair enough.
Agreed.
I understand...i was just venting.
Good point. But that still doesnt warrant them getting paid millions of dollars. From an eceonomical stand point, yes, it makes COMPLETE sense. BUt, maybe that means that the theory of economics is screwy.
We dont HAVE to go to the doctor, but in some cases, if you want to live, it is a necessity. However, one can decide NOT to go and face the consequnces.
I dont. I havent been to a professional sportsmatch in over 3 years.I dont buy merchandise, either.
Once supply and demand gets expolited to levels of atheltes and actors getting paid 10X that of a doctor to entertain, its absolutely capitalism at its finest.
Limited supply? There are 7 rounds of the NFL draft. There are what, 20-50 rounds in baseball?? Sounds like there are plenty of ahtletes to go around. I would honestly like to see how many 12 years olds say " i wanna be a doctor" compared to the ones that say "i wanna be Michal Jordan."
No entertainer is worth any more than someone who is a VITAL part of human existance. Can we survive witouth 50 Cent, Metallica, and Mariah Carey? No question. Can we live without the garbage man, doctors or teachers? The odds are extremely low.
The only thing that comes into play in this...is HUMAN NATURE. Nothing more, nothing less. Humans like DRAMA, ACTION, VIOLENCE, and SEX...can we all agree on that? Would anyone watch The Real World if everyone got along? Would anyone watch flag football? How about porn with no penetration on all the clothes on? I like to be entertained, I am not gonna lie. However, I feel trapped by giving into the madness of money and the reality of being bored out of my mind.
Will I not see Iron Man becuase of the amount of money is being paid to the peoole putting it together? No. Just like most other human, I am, in some form, a hypocrite.
However, I do DL movies, music, and my favorite shows...so i guess yall should be the judge.
ON topic: Yes, that is BS that the fighters are doing all the work and getting only a fraction of the rewards.
Fair enough.
Agreed.
I understand...i was just venting.
Good point. But that still doesnt warrant them getting paid millions of dollars. From an eceonomical stand point, yes, it makes COMPLETE sense. BUt, maybe that means that the theory of economics is screwy.
We dont HAVE to go to the doctor, but in some cases, if you want to live, it is a necessity. However, one can decide NOT to go and face the consequnces.
I dont. I havent been to a professional sportsmatch in over 3 years.I dont buy merchandise, either.
Once supply and demand gets expolited to levels of atheltes and actors getting paid 10X that of a doctor to entertain, its absolutely capitalism at its finest.
Limited supply? There are 7 rounds of the NFL draft. There are what, 20-50 rounds in baseball?? Sounds like there are plenty of ahtletes to go around. I would honestly like to see how many 12 years olds say " i wanna be a doctor" compared to the ones that say "i wanna be Michal Jordan."
No entertainer is worth any more than someone who is a VITAL part of human existance. Can we survive witouth 50 Cent, Metallica, and Mariah Carey? No question. Can we live without the garbage man, doctors or teachers? The odds are extremely low.
The only thing that comes into play in this...is HUMAN NATURE. Nothing more, nothing less. Humans like DRAMA, ACTION, VIOLENCE, and SEX...can we all agree on that? Would anyone watch The Real World if everyone got along? Would anyone watch flag football? How about porn with no penetration on all the clothes on? I like to be entertained, I am not gonna lie. However, I feel trapped by giving into the madness of money and the reality of being bored out of my mind.
Will I not see Iron Man becuase of the amount of money is being paid to the peoole putting it together? No. Just like most other human, I am, in some form, a hypocrite.
However, I do DL movies, music, and my favorite shows...so i guess yall should be the judge.
ON topic: Yes, that is BS that the fighters are doing all the work and getting only a fraction of the rewards.
More money than meets the eye in UFC
by Kevin Iole on Apr 30, 2008 at 6:22 pm ET
One of my passions in life is technology. I'm obsessed with gizmos and gadgets and am all but in love with my iPhone.
A friend who knows about my obsession had a computer he wanted to sell on eBay and asked me what I felt it was worth. He went to a Web site that showed an estimated street value, one I felt was considerably too high.
He argued that his asking price was justified because this web site was made up of experts and they agreed with him.
True, I said, but something is only worth what someone else will pay for it. And when we went to eBay and looked at completed listings for a computer with specs similar to his, he was shocked. People were only paying about half of what he thought he could get.
And that same analogy is true when it comes to fighter compensation. There is a lot of debate in the mixed martial arts media over what the UFC pays its fighters. It's easy to take the stance that the fighters deserve more pay.
Of course they do. Getting punched in the face or kicked in the head is about as difficult a profession as one could choose. You only get paid when you actually compete, meaning an injury in training — by your or by your opponent — means you've worked two months for free.
So fighters deserve as much as they can get. I have always and will always advocate for the athletes in this sport.
But, when Kalib Starnes split ways with the UFC last week, he called his deal with the UFC an oppressive contract. He complained about his pay.
Clearly, the top UFC fighters don't make nearly the amount that the top boxers make. But there is an incorrect perception that the other UFC fighters are being underpaid compared to boxers of the same level as well as fighters in the mixed martial arts community.
So I called the Nevada Athletic Commission and got the payment verification sheets for the last two major boxing shows (Bernard Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe on April 19 and Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15) as well as for the last major UFC show in the state, UFC 81 on Feb. 2.
According to state records, Hopkins and Calzaghe were each paid $3 million for their work. The next highest-paid fighter on that card was Audley Harrison, who made $20,000. There were nine fighters who made $5,000 or less, including two men, Marcos Mendias and Jermell Charlo, who made but $1,500.
Pacquiao made $3 million and Marquez $1 million for their epic rematch, but there were five fighters of the 14 on that show who made $3,500 or less.
At the UFC show, the lowest base pay for any of the 18 fighters on the card was the $4,000 that Kyle Bradley made.
The UFC also paid out $60,000 bonuses that night for knockout of the night, submission of the night and fight of the night. Plus, most of the fighters had bonuses for winning, so the opportunity was there for them to double their pay, which was not for the boxers.
And several agents, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have said the UFC occasionally pays its fighters bonuses it chooses not to announce to the public. These bonuses apparently go to fighters who perform superbly in a big fight.
Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre reportedly received a $500,000 bonus and a Hummer when he knocked out Matt Hughes at UFC 65 in Sacramento, Calif.
Additionally, fighting in the UFC makes an athlete significantly more attractive to a sponsor. Frank Mir made $85,000 for the logos he wore into the cage for his fight with Brock Lesnar that night. Had he been fighting in another organization, there's zero chance he would have earned half that in sponsorship money and he likely wouldn't have gotten 20 percent as much.
So Mir that night earned a base pay of $40,000, a win bonus of another $40,000, a submission of the night bonus of $60,000 and then hauled in $85,000 in sponsorship dollars.
He's not going to be able to retire after that bout, but bringing in $225,000 for one night's work isn't bad at any time, especially in this economy. A fighter like Chuck Liddell is making around $6 million a year between his salary and his sponsorships and was making at least $9 million little more than a year ago. He was getting $75,000 a month from Xyience and received $1 million for just two weekends of promoting the movie, "300."
"The UFC will pay you if you perform," said fighter agent Dean Albrecht, Mir's agent. "It's like in the NFL. They're not going to rip up your contract after one great game, but if you perform over a period of time, they'll pay you and pay you extremely well. In the UFC, if you go out and fight and put on a great show, believe me, they pay extremely well and they can make some of these kids rich."
Albrecht said another of his clients, Joe Lauzon, earned $8,000 for his bout with Kenny Florian earlier this month on Ultimate Fight Night 13. He would have gotten an $8,000 bonus had he won. Albrecht conceded the pay was low, but it was mitigated by a $20,000 fight of the night bonus and $52,000 in sponsorship money Albrecht negotiated.
He said if Lauzon had been fighting in a regional promotion, he would have made $2,000 to show, gotten $2,000 had he won and may have picked up another $500 in sponsorship. Even in the best case scenario, then, he would have made less than $5,000.
The IFL is bleeding money and likely won't last past its next show. Elite XC in its most recent SEC report also conceded it may not have the funds to last the rest of the year. If it's not able to pull at least a 2.5 rating on CBS for its May 31 show, it may be in jeopardy of failing.
The UFC, on the other hand, continues to thrive. It will provide a place for the fighters to sell their wares long into the future. There is no other North American-based promotion that can say that now other than the UFC.
So while the UFC should bump up the salaries of the fighters up and down the cards, given the rising merchandise sales, gate receipts and pay-per-view revenues, you also have to remember that they're the only ones who are thriving and can pay consistently. It's a two-way street.
People/fighters can complain all they want, but Boxing pay is WAY more stratified. It's not even close. You got people making 1500 to get their brains knocked out on the same card someone else is making 3 million, not even counting sponsorships. Bottom line, big names sell, small names don't make shit. You're only as strong as your weakest link, and Boxing pays less than UFC for their lowest fighters.
by Kevin Iole on Apr 30, 2008 at 6:22 pm ET
One of my passions in life is technology. I'm obsessed with gizmos and gadgets and am all but in love with my iPhone.
A friend who knows about my obsession had a computer he wanted to sell on eBay and asked me what I felt it was worth. He went to a Web site that showed an estimated street value, one I felt was considerably too high.
He argued that his asking price was justified because this web site was made up of experts and they agreed with him.
True, I said, but something is only worth what someone else will pay for it. And when we went to eBay and looked at completed listings for a computer with specs similar to his, he was shocked. People were only paying about half of what he thought he could get.
And that same analogy is true when it comes to fighter compensation. There is a lot of debate in the mixed martial arts media over what the UFC pays its fighters. It's easy to take the stance that the fighters deserve more pay.
Of course they do. Getting punched in the face or kicked in the head is about as difficult a profession as one could choose. You only get paid when you actually compete, meaning an injury in training — by your or by your opponent — means you've worked two months for free.
So fighters deserve as much as they can get. I have always and will always advocate for the athletes in this sport.
But, when Kalib Starnes split ways with the UFC last week, he called his deal with the UFC an oppressive contract. He complained about his pay.
Clearly, the top UFC fighters don't make nearly the amount that the top boxers make. But there is an incorrect perception that the other UFC fighters are being underpaid compared to boxers of the same level as well as fighters in the mixed martial arts community.
So I called the Nevada Athletic Commission and got the payment verification sheets for the last two major boxing shows (Bernard Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe on April 19 and Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15) as well as for the last major UFC show in the state, UFC 81 on Feb. 2.
According to state records, Hopkins and Calzaghe were each paid $3 million for their work. The next highest-paid fighter on that card was Audley Harrison, who made $20,000. There were nine fighters who made $5,000 or less, including two men, Marcos Mendias and Jermell Charlo, who made but $1,500.
Pacquiao made $3 million and Marquez $1 million for their epic rematch, but there were five fighters of the 14 on that show who made $3,500 or less.
At the UFC show, the lowest base pay for any of the 18 fighters on the card was the $4,000 that Kyle Bradley made.
The UFC also paid out $60,000 bonuses that night for knockout of the night, submission of the night and fight of the night. Plus, most of the fighters had bonuses for winning, so the opportunity was there for them to double their pay, which was not for the boxers.
And several agents, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have said the UFC occasionally pays its fighters bonuses it chooses not to announce to the public. These bonuses apparently go to fighters who perform superbly in a big fight.
Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre reportedly received a $500,000 bonus and a Hummer when he knocked out Matt Hughes at UFC 65 in Sacramento, Calif.
Additionally, fighting in the UFC makes an athlete significantly more attractive to a sponsor. Frank Mir made $85,000 for the logos he wore into the cage for his fight with Brock Lesnar that night. Had he been fighting in another organization, there's zero chance he would have earned half that in sponsorship money and he likely wouldn't have gotten 20 percent as much.
So Mir that night earned a base pay of $40,000, a win bonus of another $40,000, a submission of the night bonus of $60,000 and then hauled in $85,000 in sponsorship dollars.
He's not going to be able to retire after that bout, but bringing in $225,000 for one night's work isn't bad at any time, especially in this economy. A fighter like Chuck Liddell is making around $6 million a year between his salary and his sponsorships and was making at least $9 million little more than a year ago. He was getting $75,000 a month from Xyience and received $1 million for just two weekends of promoting the movie, "300."
"The UFC will pay you if you perform," said fighter agent Dean Albrecht, Mir's agent. "It's like in the NFL. They're not going to rip up your contract after one great game, but if you perform over a period of time, they'll pay you and pay you extremely well. In the UFC, if you go out and fight and put on a great show, believe me, they pay extremely well and they can make some of these kids rich."
Albrecht said another of his clients, Joe Lauzon, earned $8,000 for his bout with Kenny Florian earlier this month on Ultimate Fight Night 13. He would have gotten an $8,000 bonus had he won. Albrecht conceded the pay was low, but it was mitigated by a $20,000 fight of the night bonus and $52,000 in sponsorship money Albrecht negotiated.
He said if Lauzon had been fighting in a regional promotion, he would have made $2,000 to show, gotten $2,000 had he won and may have picked up another $500 in sponsorship. Even in the best case scenario, then, he would have made less than $5,000.
The IFL is bleeding money and likely won't last past its next show. Elite XC in its most recent SEC report also conceded it may not have the funds to last the rest of the year. If it's not able to pull at least a 2.5 rating on CBS for its May 31 show, it may be in jeopardy of failing.
The UFC, on the other hand, continues to thrive. It will provide a place for the fighters to sell their wares long into the future. There is no other North American-based promotion that can say that now other than the UFC.
So while the UFC should bump up the salaries of the fighters up and down the cards, given the rising merchandise sales, gate receipts and pay-per-view revenues, you also have to remember that they're the only ones who are thriving and can pay consistently. It's a two-way street.
People/fighters can complain all they want, but Boxing pay is WAY more stratified. It's not even close. You got people making 1500 to get their brains knocked out on the same card someone else is making 3 million, not even counting sponsorships. Bottom line, big names sell, small names don't make shit. You're only as strong as your weakest link, and Boxing pays less than UFC for their lowest fighters.