GSP is rich; Dana White is wealthy

PARENTAL ADVISORY...EXPLICIT LANGUAGE ON THE CHRIS ROCK CLIP

Fighter payouts from UFC 129 are now public, and it doesn't take a Bill James-style statistical guru to figure out for all the physical and mental strain that go with preparing for these bouts, the payoff is paltry.

Naturally Georges St-Pierre tops the pay scale, banking $400,000 for his decision win over Jake Shields, while Lyoto Machida grossed $329,000 for his flying front kick knockout of Randy Couture, who himself earned $250,000.

Those three men consumed more than 53 percent of the UFC's total payroll, with less than $1 million spread between 21 other fighters.

St-Pierre might be the closest thing the UFC has to Manny Pacquiao -- a dominant fighter inside the ring and an endearing character outside of it, someone whose fame crosses borders and who demonstrates that the American sports mainstream can indeed embrace foreign stars. 

But at the bank, Rush can't touch the Pac Man.

St-Pierre's $200,000 guarantee is roughly one percent of what Pacqiao is promised for his showdown this Saturday with Shane Mosely, and UFC 129's entire payroll ($1.84 million) translates into about a round of work for boxing's pound-for-pound champ.

That's not an accident.

It's how the UFC is built -- top down, president Dana White as the face of the organization while the fighters are interchangeable pieces, even when they're famous. Some -- like St-Pierre and Anderson Silva -- gain fame, but none gains true independence.

Which is smart business, because it significantly limits the UFC's financial exposure and, most importantly, competition.

Guarantee headliners sums that rival Vernon Wells' salary and you risk losing money if for some reason the pay-per-view doesn't sell. A guarantee is a guarantee, after all.

Beyond that, if the UFC starts paying its stars Pacquiao money it risks blurring the boundary between the wealthy and the merely rich. It's important distinction, pointed out brilliantly by comedian Chris Rock, because when that border shifts so does the balance of power.

St-Pierre's not poor.

His $400,000 paycheques are bigger than he would earn fighting for any other promoter. He won't make that kind of cash fighting on the Score, and he wouldn't bank like that with Strikeforce, the former competitor the UFC bought earlier this year. 

But while his purses are big enough to keep St-Pierre at home they're still small enough to keep him from getting ideas.

You guys ever wonder why Oscar De La Hoya is always smiling?

It's because 10 years ago he figured out that the best way to make big, sustainable, money in boxing is to get paid when other people fight. So in 2001 he founded Golden Boy Promotions.

Because the boxers can get rich, but promoters are wealthy.

And you know how he made the leap between the two?

By being the sport's cash cow for a decade and a half, stacking eight-figure paydays until he could afford to go into business for himself. Before Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather surpassed him no boxer cashed bigger cheques than the Golden Boy, who had earned more than $150 million in the ring even before grossing $43 million more against Mayweather in 2007. 

By then, of course, he was six years into his career as fighter-promoter, the dual role ensuring that no matter the outcome the Golden Boy would always win at the bank. And after years of depending on people like Bob Arum and Don King, De La Hoya competes with them.

For fighters.

For clout.

For the pay-per-view airtime that sustains the sport.

Like De La Hoya decade ago, St-Pierre is the biggest name in his sport, and a recognizeable face that makes him not just a fighter but a business unto himself.

Which isn't to say that St-Pierre shares De La Hoya's long term ambition. He might not want to trade the stress of being a fighter for the headaches of employing a roster of them. Not now, not ever.

But this isn't about St-Pierre. Its about the top-down structure of the UFC that allows fighters like him to earn very good money, but never enough to acquire clout.

Not at $400,000 per win.

So even if he wanted to graduate from competing in the UFC to competing against them, the chances of him making it happen are slimmer than St-Pierre himself the morning of the weigh in.

Which is to say it won't happen.

And the UFC doesn't mind that at all.

 

Follow the Star's Morgan Campbell on twitter.

Comments

[Chad]

$400,000.00 is only the money that is disclosed to the athletic commission it doesn't factor in PPV percentage and other bonuses and money that the UFC doesn't disclose. Don't be mislead, fighters like St. Pierre earn well over 1 million per fight, this particular fight might have netted him over 2 million. The UFC's top guys may not be the top paid athletes in the world but they are millionaires just from their fighting money alone not factoring in sponsors and endorsements which are becoming more lucrative for fighters every day.

[Morgan Campbell]

OK so raise GSP's take-home pay to a million...raise it to $2 million. It's still not $10 million, let alone $20 million or $30 million. Either way the top guys in the UFC make exponentially less than boxing stars of the same calibre...which, again, is by design. The UFC's business model is much more sustainable without runaway salaries, and that same business model will prevent a fighter from stacking enough chips to create a Golden Boy-style competitor of his own....if that fighter is so inclined...

[Chad]

And that is a good thing, if the sport becomes fractured like boxing it won't survive. Promoters like Don King and even De La Hoya killed boxing and continue to pick at the bones.

The UFC puts allot of it's money into growing the sport, campaigning for sanctioning in other states and countries, campaigning for rule changes and a new judging system and making sure that the sport is never seen as a freak show or human cock fighting again. The pay days have incrementally gotten larger as the venues have gotten larger and ppv buys have gone up and that is the smart way to ensure that the sport can survive and that the UFC can afford to pay it's entire roster of fighters. Additionally the UFC pays for surgeries and rehabilitation for any injury sustained during a fight which must cost tens of millions a year. I sincerely hope that the boxing mentality never permeates the sport, if it does new stars will never be made and MMA will never be the same.

[Morgan Campbell]

For sure. I pointed out in the post that doing things this way is very good business for the UFC, and this arrangement is exactly what will keep it from becoming like boxing -- mostly for better but sometimes for worse....

[Greg]

I agree with some of the other comments here, not sure why the author of this piece was unaware of the PPV payouts the top stars receive. I recall several years ago guy's like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture making upwards of $5 million per fight once the PPV was tallied.

While that payday is not on par with boxing, it is still some very serious money for a sport still in it's infancy.

[Red Whacker]

So basically UFC is a socialist organization. Interesting.

[B-Rock]

Great points, Morgan. You'll probably be barred from covering the UFC by the UFC for posting this, though.

[Stu Gautz]

The headliners may not make as much in boxing, however, comparing the salaries of the entire card show a different story. Only 5 fighters on the Mosely-Pacquiao card are making over $100k. Compare that with 6 at UFC 129. The further down the card you go, the more favorable the UFC is to the lower fighters. They also stand to make bonuses for fight of the night, submission of the night and knockout of the night.

[Justin]

Like Chad said, that is only GSP's disclosed salary. It is only a fraction of his salary because he has undisclosed bonuses.

[Aaron]

The problem here is that it's simply criminal not to pay these fighters more money, money that is deserved. The reason why the boxing landscape changed, is because fighters woke up and realized - "hey, why is this guy making ten times what I'm earning, and he doesn't have to be punched in the face." At the end of the day, the men who put their lives on the line, and make immense sacrifices concerning their health and personal lines, deserve a lions share of the money.

It is wrong that the majority of UFC fighters, bar a small handful, will not have enough money to retire with. Men who give up so much, should not HAVE to work after their careers are over...especially when the bosses who make money off their blood, are living in luxury.

[Macrath]

lol... the problem here is ufc fighters are not paid too little it's that boxers are paid too much, all athletes for that matter are paid too much. So what you can throw a punch or hit a ball really well, i don't see why society values these "athletes" so much they contribute very little and get treated like kings, they even have poor people arguing how it's unjust that UFC fighters only make 1 or 2 million while boxers make so much more. It's not unjust it is disgusting how much athletes are paid when that money could be used to better our way of life instead of continue to keep people trapped in this idiotic mindset.

[V4Vendetta]

Great for the top tier in each weight class, but unfortunately very sucky for the low level guys trying to make bread getting their measley 3,500 to fight 3,500 to win while trying to support a family and getting free T-shirts from their awesome sponsorships.
Hence the reason i didnt continue fighting. Low level guys pay to fight. That problem hasnt been fixed yet.