UFC doubles down to keep fighter salaries a secret

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FrankieNYC

"My balls was hot!"
Aug 13, 2017
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6,760
In court filing, UFC doubles down to keep fighter salaries a secret

The UFC used confidential fight contracts to shoot down Mark Hunt’s lawsuit against the promotion. That may come back to bite them in court.


After a judge rejected a request this past month to seal those documents, the promotion is claiming in a motion that their release would “jeopardize” the UFC and Hunt’s “competitive standing” in the MMA industry.


Further, the promotion’s chief legal officer claims the documents would fundamentally alter the contract negotiation process, making the UFC’s business “unmanageable.”


“I have personally experienced fighters holding out or refusing to accept contract offers based on the perception that he or she should receive the same deal as another fighter regardless of differences in experience, skill level, fight records, marketability, etc.,” Zuffa rep Donald J. Campbell wrote in the motion, filed Aug. 1 in U.S. District Court in Nevada.

“If this situation were multiplied across the hundreds of fighters needed to successfully run Zuffa’s business through the public disclosure of individual fighter contracts, the contract negotiation process would become unmanageable.”


Hunt sued the UFC in January 2017, claiming the promotion schemed to deny him a fair fight at UFC 200 against ex-champ Brock Lesnar, who beat him and later tested positive for a banned substance. Hunt seeks millions in damages. The UFC has denied wrongdoing.


Nevada District Judge C.W. Hoffman has yet to rule on the filing, which was first revealed by attorney Lucas Middlebrook, who serves as an advisor to the pro-union Project Spearhead and is currently embroiled in a labor complaint against the UFC over its business practices.



View: https://twitter.com/lkmiddleb/status/1027929621520637952/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1027929621520637952&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmmajunkie.com%2F2018%2F08%2Fin-court-filing-ufc-doubles-down-to-keep-fighter-salaries-a-secret


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Ted Williams' head

It's freezing in here!
Sep 23, 2015
11,283
19,102
Strange. If I want to know how much Lebron James makes, or Alex Ovechkin, or Tom Brady, or Tiger Woods, etc etc, that's readily available.

But UFC salaries need to be a secret. Hmmmmmm...
 

Wild

Zi Nazi
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
85,004
123,331
I get they’re running a business and the goal is to maximize revenues & profit, but it doesn’t change the fact the majority of decision makes at WME/UFC are scumbags.
 

SuperPig

Enjoy yourselves
Aug 7, 2015
30,979
51,737
I get they’re running a business and the goal is to maximize revenues & profit, but it doesn’t change the fact the majority of decision makes at WME/UFC are scumbags.
That's also how they have billions of dollars to work with.

Until they're forced to go completely public with contracts due to an association or union and collective bargaining then it really is foolish of them to release details of contracts. It's not necessarily the nice thing to do but it's definitely the smart thing to do for business.
 

Papi Chingon

Domesticated Hombre
Oct 19, 2015
25,475
32,244
I don't see how it would make the business "unmanageable." Seems like a dumb argument and outright lie. I can however see that the ufc would no longer be able to profit 78% moving forward, but that wasn't their argument.
 

Wild

Zi Nazi
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
85,004
123,331
I don't see how it would make the business "unmanageable." Seems like a dumb argument and outright lie. I can however see that the ufc would no longer be able to profit 78% moving forward, but that wasn't their argument.
What it would be is a pain in their ass and a huge hit to their bottom line.
 

jason73

Yuri Bezmenov was right
First 100
Jan 15, 2015
72,781
134,158
there wont be a union for a very long time so they better get used to getting fucked
 

Haulport

Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes
First 100
Jan 17, 2015
3,062
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I don't think that WME are a bunch of nice guys but when da fuq did it become "the way it should be" that people's personal contract numbers should be public? I think that bullshit in whatever industry...
 

Papi Chingon

Domesticated Hombre
Oct 19, 2015
25,475
32,244
I don't think that WME are a bunch of nice guys but when da fuq did it become "the way it should be" that people's personal contract numbers should be public? I think that bullshit in whatever industry...
It isn't the way it should be. They are a private company with some minority owners. The only people they need to share information with are the share holders. Going back on topic of this thread though, the legal team has argued that disclosing the information would make negotiating with fighters unmanageable. It's a weak argument and a lie. Stating the truth as to why they do not want to disclose that information would have merit. Lying as to why those records should be sealed is a slap in the face to the judge (assuming he has common sense, and assuming he likes people in his courtroom to not insult his intelligence).