Jon Jones Contract negotiations

good i hope he holds out and changes the pay scale so these guys stop getting raped by the owners

 

It won't change anything. Your value is only as high as your demand. No one is going to pay to watch Jones beat up Rampage or King Mo in Bellator or any of the unknowns at the WSOF. And guys like Guffstason and Cormier aren't going to abandon the chance at being a UFC Champ by following Jones to another promotion.

His best option is to retire now. He would do a little damage to the UFC PPV revenue and increase his value without any risk at all. A year from now, he will still be undefeated and still a bigger draw than Cormier or Gustaffson. Without a contract, he can negotiate for a return fight from a stronger position.

On the other hand, there will always be people like me who think the contract struggle is a way to avoid tough fights with Gustaffson and Cormier.

 

I have to laugh at people who think, just because a handful of boxers make obscene money, that UFC fighters are underpaid.


TFK

 

Meanwhile, Gustaffson says he appreciates the UFC for giving him the opportunity to make a living doing something he loves.

To me, that is always the end of the debate. If you don't view it as a way to make money while doing something you love then just quit and your problem with being underpaid ends.

 

In a related note, Ben Askren won in his One FC debut running his record to 13-0 and no one noticed.

 

REED Doesn't Understand Why Fans Get MENSTRUAL Whenever a Fighter (or Any Athlete for that Matter), Tries to MAXIMIZE His/Her Earning Potential...

MMAists AREN'T Robots & they CAN'T Fight Forever...Jon Jones will Never EVER Make More Money than he Will as a Mixed Martial Artist...EVERYTHING is Negotiable & if Jones Doesn't @ Least TEST the Waters, he'll NEVER Get Whatever it Is he Feels he's Worth...

While UFC Doesn't "Need" Jon Jones, Per Se, Jones is Still VERY Young & Would Build a FedorESQUE Aura, Beating the Shit Out of Lesser Fighters in Other Organizations...& just like Dana White ALWAYS had to Deal w/Fedor Questions (Up Until he Got Beat), he'd have to Deal w/Bones Jones Inquiries...

Speaking of Dana White, How Much Does HE Make Per Year, Per Event, Whatever???...Oh, that's Right, UFC Keeps their Books "Closed" from the Public, Which they Only Do Because they KNOW they're UNDERPAYING their Talent, More Times than Not...




REEDopcorn:

 

That's Because Mid Level & Low Level MMAists Get their Bouts TELEVISED More...

A Typical UFC Card will Feature 3-5 SPIKE Televised Bouts, then Another 3-4 on the Actual Pay Per View Later that Evening...You're Simply NOT Going to See 6-9 TELEVISED Boxing Matches on a Single Night, Which DIMINISHES the Purses of the Mid Level & Low Level Boxers...

Having Said That, Guys like Andre Berto & Keith Thurman (Off the Top of REED's Head) Make A LOT More than MMAists of Equal Talent & Marketability Do...

The Belief that "Just a Handful" of Boxers Makes Money is COMEDIC...




REEDopcorn:

 

Fixed.


TFK

 

BULLSHITTING Your Way Around the FACT UFC Blatantly SHIELDS Themselves w/their "Hidden Books" Only Makes You a Blind FANBOY, Fanboy...

Whenever You Actually Wanna DEBATE this Shit, Step the Fuck Up...Otherwise, SPARE REED your Bullshit...

As Illustrated by your Posting History, You BLINDLY Accept WHATEVER the UFC Brass Throws @ the Fighters AND You EXPECT the Fighters to Take it Up the Ass for as Looooooooooong &/or As HARD as UFC's Willing to FUCK Them...

REED's of a DIFFERING State of Mind...

You & REED Can Agree to DISagree or You Can Actually Post Something of MERIT, in your Next Response...





REEDopcorn:

 

First off, no need to get so upset.

Second, do you have any clue whatsoever how many privately owned companies don't disclose their earnings or the salaries they pay?

Obviously you don't, or this wouldn't be such an issue for you. But believe me, it is a very common practice.


TFK

 

That line of thinking is stupid, don't you think the UFC profit pie is a huge one and it's been unfairly sliced? The ones shedding blood and tears should get as much money as the rich ones who only promote and sell the show.

 

I have a huge problem with this as well. It's like well, yeah if you're a suit you can earn as much as you want, but if you're a fighter you should be thankful to your boss or whatever. Slave mentality.

 

Who's Upset???...

Just Because Something's a "Common Practice" DOESN'T Make it Right...Sometimes the Status Quo Needs to Be Shaken Up...

You & REED BOTH Know UFC Keeps their Books Closed BECAUSE of the Discrepancy in what the Brass Makes vs. what the Fighters's Make...You Can HIDE Behind the Ambiguity of Closed Books All You Want, but in No Way Does that Mean Fighter's AREN'T Getting Fucked...Of Course You'll Respond "We Don't Know", REED Can Play that Same Card just as Easily...

Whenever These Type of Threads Surface You ALWAYS Side w/the Brass...REED ALWAYS Sides w/the Fighters...It Is What it Is...



REED

 

agREED

 

Slave mentality has nothing to do with that. But when somebody defends the product more than the fighter, that's some serious slaving going on. I just want to see the fighters get fair pay, and by fair I mean as much as one of those filthy rich fucks sitting on a desk is earning.

 

Based on that rationale, everyone should make as much money as the owners of the company they work for??

The UFC negotiates contracts with every fighter they employee. They are not grabbing people off the street and forcing them to fight for money. If you don't like the terms of the contract, then don't sign it. Right now Jon Jones has that ability. He can get up from the negotiating table and say "fuck it, fighting isn't worth it".

Every company, by shear practice of business principle, looks to keep cost low and revenue high. The UFC, like any other "for profit" company, is doing the same thing.

I don't think I've ever personally watched anyone work harder than dudes that cut sugarcane in Florida. 95 degrees, 2 billion percent humidity, huge mosquitoes, rats, snakes, etc. Watching them, I thought " I wouldn't do that for a million dollars". But guess what, there are people waiting in line to take those jobs. These guys are really bleeding and sweating for their livelihood.

So now I'm supposed to feel bad because guys that essentially get to practice and play a sport for a living aren't making a larger percent of the UFC's overall gross revenue? Sorry, I do not.

 

It's not about "feeling sorry". It's about fairness. It's all about a certain fighter earning his market value. If Kobe Bryant can command 20m per year it's because that's his market value, same as Floyd. So that being said, why can't Jones earn his market value?

 

It doesn't matter. His market value isn't based on the UFC's success. It''s based on what the UFC or another organization is willing to pay him.

I 100% support Jon Jones trying get as much as he absolutely can. At the end of the day however, the amount he gets IS his market value. Period.

 

The other thing I find hilarious and really just uninformed is the idea that the Fertitas or UFC should arbitrarily share their wealth with fighters. Are these fighters willing to risk their own capital to expand the growth of the UFC product. Is Jon Jones willing to reduce his contracted amount if the UFC loses money on a card in a new location somewhere or is Cain willing yo take a pay cut if he gets knocked out in 2 minutes on FOX and puts the UFC/Fox deal in long term jeopardy?

Hell no, the risk and cost of expanding the brand doesn't impact an active fighter's contact at all.

 

People don't understand the concept of market value. A fighter is only worth what somebody is willing to pay him. That determines market value, not how much their bosses earn.

Jones could leave the UFC, start his own MMA company, put on a PPV and be the headliner, and do you think he would make more than what he is making now? Highly unlikely.


TFK

 

Yep...

Like REED Said, EVERYTHING is Negotiable...EVERY Fight is a NEW Opportunity for a Fighter to Assess his Worth & CHALLENGE his Employer, if Seen Fit...Toooooooooo Often, People Try to EQUATE their Mundane, 9 to 5 Existence w/that of a Professional Athlete...

REED IS a 9 to 5'er Himself & There's NOfuckingWAY REED is as IMPORTANT to his Workplace as Guys like GSP, Anderson Silva, Ronda Rousey or Jon Jones are/were to UFC...So Applying Everyday Business Practices & Principles to a Situation like THIS, is Retarded...It's Apples and Oranges...Jon Jones has Positioned Himself into a UNIQUE Position & it's SHITTY that Fans Want to HATE Him for that...Again, Dude has a SMALL Window of Time that he Can Compete, so he's Gotta MAXIMIZE his Juice While he's Got It...

Slave Mentality, Haves vs. Have Nots, Call it What you Want...From the INCEPTION of Prizefighting & Combative Sports, Promoters have RAPED Fighters, Taking Advantage of their Lack of Intelligence &/or Business Acumen, PERCEIVED or Otherwise...




REEDopcorn:

 

Would you be ok with the UFC cutting a fighter's pay every time he loses?


TFK

 

Jon can do whatever he wants. It's his health, his life. If UFC doesn't like it ? Too bad so sad, let him go. Whatever. Good for him.

 

So UFC Keeps its Books Closed, but Makes Fighters's Purses Public???...

How Much Did Jones Make Last Fight & How Many Bouts has he Made "Well over a Million" In???...What is "Well Over a Million", By the Way???...




REEDopcorn: