http://mmajunkie.com/2018/03/ufc-joe-rogan-salary-wants-win-money-phased-out-mma?utm_campaign=trueAnthem: Trending Content&utm_content=5ab3a20504d301793d0fb9bb&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook Joe Rogan recently said the idea of getting show money and win money is outdated. Rogan believes a fighter should get paid a flat fee to show regardless of whether he wins or loses. Rogan is mainly citing the lack of quality judging in MMA. What do you guys think?
Yes. Every proper league has moved to a guaranteed contract model. The sports have all improved. If the UFC wants to be a league, and DFW himself uses MLS as his comparison reference, that should be the case. But this will not happen until the athletes unite which looks unlikely at least in the near future. They have zero negotiating power in general.
I agree. People in the comments section accurately pointed out the current pay model does not even promise exciting fights because many people win by any means necessary to get both the show and win bonus. It would seem the UFC could offset the cost of raising show fees to a much higher flat rate by including some kind of bonus for actually finishing fights and making the product more exciting. It could be similar to how NBA players have a win bonus for shooting a certain percentage from three point range for the season or something like that.
Bonuses are one thing. Most sports have those and that's fine. The problem with the show/win model is that instead of incentivizing winning (and risk-taking) they are actually putting undue stress on the athletes leading up to the fight by making their financial situation uncertain. This is especially the case in building training camps that can cost so much. Trying to budget based on what you might be paid is difficult. As is the constant threat of one performance being bad enough to end your contract. If the UFC can't afford to guarantee 600 people than don't make their contracts exclusive or have less athletes on the roster. They don't need to adjust their pricing or anything for this--they are paying out approx. 12% to the athletes in a sporting world where 50% is standard.
