UFC announces Reebok payouts for athletes starting in July 2015
On Wednesday, the UFC officially released the figures that will be attached to the sponsored payouts athletes will receive under the new outfitting policy with Reebok that starts with UFC 189 on July 11.
The deal signed in late 2014 will see Reebok as the titled sponsor for the uniforms worn by fighters during fight week, as well as in the Octagon.
The new outfitting policy effectively eliminates fighters from wearing any other sponsored clothing or patches on their shorts or shirts with Reebok now taking center stage for all future UFC events for at least the next five and a half years.
While the original announcement was made that the fighters would be paid based on rankings, the UFC has changed that structure and will now pay the athletes based on tenure with the company.
The new pay structure is as follows (numbers are based on the athlete's status going into the fight with payouts made approximately 10 days after the bout)
Champions will be paid $40,000 per bout
Title contenders will be paid $30,000 per bout
Fighters with 21 bouts or more will be paid $20,000 per bout
Fighters with 16-20 bouts will be paid $15,000 per bout
Fighters with 11-15 bouts will be paid $10,000 per bout
Fighters with 6-10 bouts will be paid $5,000 per bout
Fighters with 1-5 bouts will be paid $2,500 per bout.
The payouts will be determined by a fighters total amount of fights in the UFC (Zuffa owned and pre-Zuffa era as well) and fights held in Strikeforce and the WEC that took place during the Zuffa era (Zuffa purchased Strikeforce in 2011, purchased the WEC in 2006).
So for instance Conor McGregor currently has five fights in the UFC. For his upcoming bout against Jose Aldo he will be paid $30,000 as a title challenger. If he loses, McGregor would go back to his standard pay after six fights in the UFC, which would put him at $5,000.
Fighters like McGregor are able to have additional sponsorship deals with Reebok, which could obviously yield them additional money per fight or per year depending on the terms of their individual endorsement with the company.
UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta confirmed on Wednesday in a conference call with FOX Sports that fighters are allowed to have apparel and non-apparel sponsors outside of fight week.
During fight week, however, fighters will be required to wear Reebok branded gear as well as gear to the weigh-ins and obviously in the fight as well.
Fighters who do not comply with the new outfitting policy will be considered in violation of the UFC's Code of Conduct with potential penalties being levied against them for non-compliance.
Fighters will also have a chance to make additional money from the sale of their own Reebok branded gear that will be sold online and at events with approximately 20 to 30-percent of the profits going back to the athletes.
The numbers released on Wednesday could fluctuate up at some point during the tenure of the deal with Reebok, but there's no set terms in place for that to happen just yet.
UFC officials also confirmed that the vast majority of the money earned from the Reebok uniform deal will go back to the fighters with the exception of operating costs incurred from the program such as an equipment manager that was hired to handle the outfitting policy with athletes during fight week.
