Will the UFC’s deal with Reebok will force fighters to be more “fan-friendly?”

When the UFC announced yesterday that they had entered into a six year deal that effectively makes Reebok the official outfitter of the UFC and its fighters many were left to speculate how this would impact the finances of the fighters. Would these new found uniforms and agreement benefit the roughly 500 fighters currently on the UFC roster? Or, as some have suggested, is this a case of the UFC essentially squeezing out the supplemental income of fighters derived through sponsorship opportunities?

In case you missed the news that broke yesterday on this agreement below are the pertinent points of the UFC/Rebook agreement:

• Reebok will become the official apparel manufacturer of the UFC. This will include the creation of “Fight Week gear” and exclusive “Fight Night kits.” In short, Reebok will create an official UFC uniform that all contracted fighters will wear inside the Octagon.
• The monies from the Rebook deal are to go directly to the fighters via a tiered payment system that rewards champions the biggest fight night cut with ranked fighters receiving varying levels of compensation based on their ranking in the division and said rankings tiered payout.
• Fighters will make a percentage off their specifically apparel lines with Reebok and the UFC taking the lion’s share.
• Finally, an undisclosed amount of proceeds will go directly to the Fight for Peace charity.

Early reaction from UFC fighters has largely been in favor of this deal, though, it should be noted that the UFC does not look kindly toward fighters who don’t toe the company line. However, as Yahoo! Sports Kevin Iole points out, the fighters who stand to profit from this agreement the most are the fighters who already where in a much higher tax bracket than the average rank and file UFC fighter. Champions, fighters already compensated extremely well in terms of both fight purses and sponsorship dollars, will continue to take home the biggest piece of the pie. A fighter starting out, buried on UFC Fight Pass prelims, will continue to struggle with only a slight bump in terms of take home pay.

But, this deal is not without some pretty tangible perks that should, in theory, benefit all contracted fighters on the UFC roster. For starters, ask any fighter, even those at the top, how big a pain in the ass it is for them and their managers to actually collect money owed to them from sponsors. While some sponsors are more than punctual with fighter payment, there are a lot of companies out there who are slow to cut checks to the fighters. This will effectively be less of an ordeal (though it will still exists as the UFC has said fighters can still retain sponsors, just not wear them during fight week or fight night) but without a significant chunk of their pay hinged on collecting from sponsors, fighters will not be praying that the sticker on their shorts will translate to keeping the lights on for another month.

Another perk is the reported back end deal that fighters will receive on their licensed merchandise from Rebook. Up to 20% of sales can be paid to the fighter in perpetuity provided that their apparel resonates with consumers. Again, this is great if you are on Cain Velasquez’s level but may suck if you are a fighter who fails to move the needle with the fight public, despite, perhaps, still winning inside the Octagon.

Fact of the matter is this. The UFC/Reebok deal will benefit fighter who enjoy the most popularity. Gone are the days when being a fighter was enough to make the ends meet. Now, a fighter must be keenly aware of their popularity level in hopes to not only climb the rankings (read financial tiers) in order to make the most money they can sans in-cage sponsors. The fight fan in me welcomes this incentive as the UFC has had a lack of star-driven personalities. Sure, there are the Ronda Rousey’s and Conner McGregor’s who pull in all kinds of crazy numbers, but injury and inactivity have left most of the UFC’s more recognizable stars on the sidelines hence the downward trend in PPV sales. If this deal forces fighters to be more fan-friendly and marketable then I am all for it.