Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewhere

Discussion in 'MMA - Mixed Martial Arts' started by speeds, Jan 15, 2013.

  1. speeds

    speeds $2.50 highball, $1.50 beer Staff Member Administrator GFX Team

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    Per his latest conference call...

    -- will not remain with the UFC following his bout against Glover Teixeira
    -- was offered a new deal by the UFC but refused it
    -- doesn't feel he was treated properly following UFC 144 (where he missed weight & lost the fight), hasn't been respected by the UFC
    -- doesn't feel he's been compensated fairly by the UFC but says his issue with them "has nothing to do with money" (recently ranted that the UFC stood for U Fight Cheap)
    -- unhappy about being matched-up against wrestlers like Hamill and Bader
    -- thinks that the UFC pays the low-end fighters too little, disrespects them
    -- weighing his boxing and pro kickboxing options

    [​IMG]
     
  2. speeds

    speeds $2.50 highball, $1.50 beer Staff Member Administrator GFX Team

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    In related news, Jackson signed an endorsement deal with Reebok but the UFC won't let him wear it. The UFC has an annual "subscription fee" for endorsers that is in excess of $100,000. Presumably Reebok hasn't paid this--or the UFC could have an exclusive deal with Nike that prohibits their competition from being on the shows. Jackson is pissed.
     
  3. Mamba

    Mamba The King is Back Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    Jackson is a fucking diva. My GF's sister knows him really well, even has a partnership with him in a gym in my area and the guy is always flaking on events. I used to like him, but can't stand him anymore. His entitlement is too much.
     
  4. speeds

    speeds $2.50 highball, $1.50 beer Staff Member Administrator GFX Team

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    In his UFC on FOX media scrum Rampage Jackson said that the advertised Pay-Per-View figures are false, that the UFC juices them up, and that the fighters who get cuts of the PPV revenue are the ones that know the true figures. Or, he says that the UFC may low-ball the PPV numbers to the fighters to decrease their cuts. Because the actual numbers aren't made public (Dave Meltzer's figures are estimates) nobody outside of the service provider and Zuffa know the real numbers.
     
  5. JFizzleRaider

    JFizzleRaider Sad Panda Global Moderator

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    Love jacksons humor, but dude whines too much.

    Didnt you post something awhile ago showing rampage is like top 5 all time in ufc earnings speeds?
     
  6. Mamba

    Mamba The King is Back Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    Dana put him on blast saying over the past 5 years, Rampage has made over $15 million. Stop your bitching, Jackass.
     
  7. deception

    deception JBB Banned Member

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    rampage is a bitter fighter at the end of his career. however, dana white is a liar.
     
  8. speeds

    speeds $2.50 highball, $1.50 beer Staff Member Administrator GFX Team

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  9. Mamba

    Mamba The King is Back Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    I didn't click the link, but wouldn't that be just reported earnings? Rampage hasn't come out and refuted the $15 million figure to my knowledge, and I don't think he would be shy about that.

    Read today that the UFC has the right to match any offer Rampage receives. Why do fighters sign these type of deals?
     
  10. speeds

    speeds $2.50 highball, $1.50 beer Staff Member Administrator GFX Team

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    Just the money that the UFC and the fighter agree to declare to the state athletic commission, so it is a baseline figure. Did Dana say whether the $15-million figure is how much he got paid by the UFC or just a ballpark of how much he thinks Page has made?

    Either way it shouldn't be in the UFC's policy to put Page's finances on blast.

    As for why do they sign these deals--they are the ones being offered. The UFC basically has a policy where you sign what they offer or you don't, they aren't big on negotiating. Helps when there isn't competition.
     
  11. Mamba

    Mamba The King is Back Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    Well a similar deal is causing Eddie Alvarez a lot of issues right now.

    Dana just said total over the past 5 years. I'm assuming that means bonuses, PPV cuts, etc...

    I don't really have an issue with the UFC putting those numbers out there in this type of scenario. Rampage makes it sound like he's fighting for peanuts and has been blasting the UFC for 1-2 years now on his pay. Dana has been relatively quiet about the topic, but what he has said, Rampage hasn't mentioned at all.
     
  12. speeds

    speeds $2.50 highball, $1.50 beer Staff Member Administrator GFX Team

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    To be fair-- $3-million/year for a top-10 fighter is cheap, and to me it sounds like an inflated number.

    Average salaries in the other leagues...

    EPL $1.8-million
    NFL $1.8-million
    NHL $2.4-million
    MLB $3.3-million
    NBA $5.2-million
     
  13. Mamba

    Mamba The King is Back Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    Yeah but on the scale of UFC fighter pay, that is more than generous. I don't agree with UFC pay, but I don't agree that Rampage is underpaid for the sport. Its not like the UFC pays significantly less than any other MMA org. Anywhere else Rampage goes, he's gonna "put his life on the line" for even less money.

    But yes, I do think that UFC pay needs to improve based on the money that the organization rakes in.
     
  14. speeds

    speeds $2.50 highball, $1.50 beer Staff Member Administrator GFX Team

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    Most leagues are at 50/50% for salaries vs. league profit. I think most estimates have Zuffa shelling-out closer to 20%.
     
  15. Mamba

    Mamba The King is Back Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    But Zuffa doesn't make as much as most leagues, do you think they could survive on that type of business model?
     
  16. speeds

    speeds $2.50 highball, $1.50 beer Staff Member Administrator GFX Team

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    Re: Rampage: won't sign new contract with UFC, will take cut in pay to fight elsewher

    No, it isn't a fair comparison since the Zuffa has almost 500 fighters under contract, more than the total number of players in the NBA, but are only worth more than just the Knicks by about $300-million. But compared to modern pro leagues the UFC doesn't compensate on an equal level in terms of profit vs. salary payout.

    UFC (Zuffa) is a private company so there is no telling exactly how much profit they are turning each year. Forbes thought the UFC would generate about $250-million in 2008, 81% of that now going to the flying Fertitta brothers, 10% to Flash, and 9% to DFW.

    The average UFC fighter made $91,000 in 2011, lets say $100,000 in 2012. So that's $47-million in salaries paid out to the 470 athletes, not including the murky "locker room bonuses" we're reminded about. What fighters make on the side from endorsements is their business.

    Obviously what the Knicks (worth $1.1-billion) are able to pay their athletes is a lot more since they have 30x less mouths to feed compared to Zuffa (worth $1.4-billion), so the UFC isn't going to be paying the average fighter $5-million any time soon. What I'm saying is if the UFC split their profits with the fighters, fighter pay would rise about $266,000 per fighter, nearly quadrupling fighter pay.
     

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