To be or not to be!
Agent or No Agent ?
Talk between Figter's Agent and Future Figter
Which is good ? What will it be? What are the risk ?
NFL players make a minimum base wage of $600,000 or so. NFL players are also covered by union/labor laws. Given the amount of money at stake and the complicated laws involved, it behooves NFL players to pay a large amount of money to retain a "certified" agent.
However, most fighters make poop and can't afford to pay "certified" agents. They are happy to just have a trusted person get them fights and maybe a sponsorship from Condom Depot. Plus, MMA contracts aren't complicated. Fight, get paid. Requiring agents to be certified would just increase costs and drain fighters' paltry purses.
Avatar
Mike Hauben Anon
This is not true. "MMA contracts" aren't complicated? True, the actual contract to compete may be pretty straightforward, but what about that sponsorship contract? What happens when the fighter - who may not have much business/contractual experience - gets completely screwed out of his rights or money because he didnt understand the fine print? Trust me. The amount of people becoming "MMA agents" without any experience whatsoever is staggering. True, the fighter may only make peanuts, but think of how much less he will make if he doesn't understand contractual terms and ends up losing it all.
Right now, a lot of agents can come to Fight Summit each year and learn a ton - from contract negotiation, to law, to revenue, etc. But I still urge all managers to intern or something with a reputable manager to get a feel for it.
Avatar
Motmaitre Mike Hauben
"What happens when the fighter - who may not have much business/contractual experience - gets completely screwed out of his rights or money because he didnt understand the fine print? "
Let me paraphrae that for you: What happens when the fighter- who may not have much business/contractual experience- gets completely screwed by his manager, because he didn;t understand the fine print? Managers are pareasites who take a cut of all earnings, structure contracts so that the fighter bears all the downside comemrcial risk (whil ensuring the manager benefits from any upside earnings).
Who really pays for everybody's plane tickets, the limousines, the hotel bills, the champagne- everything. That's right- the fighter. And the poor fool rarely even knows it. What happens when someone comes and proposes that the fighter invest in a new restaurant or gym or real estate project? You know- the ones that always go bust in 3 years? The manager has no incentive to say no, because he isn't bearing the risk but will take a cut of all funds invested. So he gives the green light...
The truth is, Managers have no incentive to ensure that fighters retire rich and healthy. They have an incentive to see that the fighter earns and spends as much money as possible because they take a cut when money comes in and when it goes out. And of course, they want fighters to fight as long as possible, no matter the health impact. The reason Muhammad Ali stayed in the ring too long is that everytime he stepped in the ring, a few million dollars rained down from heaven on everyone around him. So they kept pushing him to do 'one more fight'.
Managers are dangerous for your well-being avoid them like the plague.
Avatar
mike tps Anon
agreed...it is up to the fighter...the manager should not have to jump thru hoops to get "qualified" let the fighter decide...this is NOT football...not even remotely close...most fighters make less than 2000 a fight...95% probably!
Avatar
TooMuch
Sounds like an insider trying to keep others on the outside to me.
Avatar
Willsletters
Received an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university and a post-graduate degree (Masters or Law) from an accredited college or university;
Filed a verified application for certification as a Contract Advisor with the NFL Players Association within the specified dates;
Paid the non-refundable $2,500 application fee;
Attended a two-day seminar;
all of these but one are just designed to add beurocracy to keep others out of the field so there is less competition. Like most fields in america the hoops are added to keep the have nots out. What a joke
Avatar
Motmaitre
Agents and managers are really useful. They help fighters go broke faster. Just look at the typical champion boxer- makes millions in the ring from his blood, sweat and tears, and ten years after retirement is broke and brain-damaged.
Why? Managers, agents, financial advisers and all the other professional leeches who take a cut of all his earnings, and control his assets while the poor meathead 'focuses on what's important'- getting beaten up while the cowards in their suits rob him blind.
My advice to any fighter? Don't get a manager. Don't get an agent. Nobody trains 24 hours a day. Take time to educate yourself on basic matters in your contracts. Talk directly to sponsors, don't give anybody authority over your money, or sign away any rights. If there's a contract you don't understand, hire a lawyer for $2k to translate it into plain English.
Take my advice or end up broke and brain-damaged while all the Don King wannabes build mansions with your hard-earned money. Your choice.
Avatar
Mo Motmaitre
you're over-simplifying things...u neglect to mention how that brain damage CAUSES reckless behavior with money (giving money to your cousin's cousin just cuz he's your cousin's cousin, etc.), and u also neglect to mention the amount of work involved in soliciting sponsors, filling out paperwork, etc. (just like the article mentioned). those boxers are broke cuz they were driving $300,000 sports cars when they could have been driving a $30,000 reliable ford or something and invested the remaining $270,000. u also neglect to mention that IF that boxer HAD invested that $270,000 (which is just an arbitrary number), investing money is no easy task. it's time consuming and requires some knowledge and experience.
i think your advice is good for someone who is very exceptional and can juggle training full time with the entire business side of things. however, most are not exceptional, and thus, need good agents/managers (not the blood-sucking type).
Avatar
Micmart3000
This article is ridiculous. Written by an insider trying to keep others from entering the business. So if i get an undergraduate degree in interior design and attend a few seminars (& of course pay the hefty fee) then I am qualifed to represent fighters>? what a joke. In fact None of the qualifications mentioned do anything to make a person a good agent or not...only increase the red tape and income for the fighting organizations...not the fighters. Let anyone enter the market and try and become an agent.... the good ones will flourish and the bad ones will not, that is how an open market is supposed to work. And the analogy about checking the background of your real estate agent is even more ridiculous that this article is.
Avatar
Alca06062
As much as I don't wanna see any fighter get screwed by an agent lets be honest, MMA still doesn't have properly qualified refs or judges still and finding someone you trust with your day to day affairs is something that a fighter has "some" control over. While a crummy ref or a judge that can't count or that doesn't have a clue about MMA is a much bigger problem that a fighter can't control at all. So let's work on getting more qualified refs and judges befor we talk about a masters for a guy who books the plane tickets....
AvatarMike Hauben Alca06062
For sure, I don't care about the guys who just book plane tickets either. But for managers who actually do things that the fighters can't do themselves... they should be knowledgeable.
.......................................
If you have proof that Fighter's Agent is good, please let a comment here.
Also if you have proof that Fighter's Agent is not good, please let a comment here too.
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Need More Detail ? contact me !!
Want to encourage me to keep blogging ?
Please send me some money at Paypal
Any small amount is welcome , even 10 cents is good for me.
My Paypal Account is : ksw.industries@gmail.com
Agent or No Agent ?
Talk between Figter's Agent and Future Figter
Which is good ? What will it be? What are the risk ?
NFL players make a minimum base wage of $600,000 or so. NFL players are also covered by union/labor laws. Given the amount of money at stake and the complicated laws involved, it behooves NFL players to pay a large amount of money to retain a "certified" agent.
However, most fighters make poop and can't afford to pay "certified" agents. They are happy to just have a trusted person get them fights and maybe a sponsorship from Condom Depot. Plus, MMA contracts aren't complicated. Fight, get paid. Requiring agents to be certified would just increase costs and drain fighters' paltry purses.
Avatar
Mike Hauben Anon
This is not true. "MMA contracts" aren't complicated? True, the actual contract to compete may be pretty straightforward, but what about that sponsorship contract? What happens when the fighter - who may not have much business/contractual experience - gets completely screwed out of his rights or money because he didnt understand the fine print? Trust me. The amount of people becoming "MMA agents" without any experience whatsoever is staggering. True, the fighter may only make peanuts, but think of how much less he will make if he doesn't understand contractual terms and ends up losing it all.
Right now, a lot of agents can come to Fight Summit each year and learn a ton - from contract negotiation, to law, to revenue, etc. But I still urge all managers to intern or something with a reputable manager to get a feel for it.
Avatar
Motmaitre Mike Hauben
"What happens when the fighter - who may not have much business/contractual experience - gets completely screwed out of his rights or money because he didnt understand the fine print? "
Let me paraphrae that for you: What happens when the fighter- who may not have much business/contractual experience- gets completely screwed by his manager, because he didn;t understand the fine print? Managers are pareasites who take a cut of all earnings, structure contracts so that the fighter bears all the downside comemrcial risk (whil ensuring the manager benefits from any upside earnings).
Who really pays for everybody's plane tickets, the limousines, the hotel bills, the champagne- everything. That's right- the fighter. And the poor fool rarely even knows it. What happens when someone comes and proposes that the fighter invest in a new restaurant or gym or real estate project? You know- the ones that always go bust in 3 years? The manager has no incentive to say no, because he isn't bearing the risk but will take a cut of all funds invested. So he gives the green light...
The truth is, Managers have no incentive to ensure that fighters retire rich and healthy. They have an incentive to see that the fighter earns and spends as much money as possible because they take a cut when money comes in and when it goes out. And of course, they want fighters to fight as long as possible, no matter the health impact. The reason Muhammad Ali stayed in the ring too long is that everytime he stepped in the ring, a few million dollars rained down from heaven on everyone around him. So they kept pushing him to do 'one more fight'.
Managers are dangerous for your well-being avoid them like the plague.
Avatar
mike tps Anon
agreed...it is up to the fighter...the manager should not have to jump thru hoops to get "qualified" let the fighter decide...this is NOT football...not even remotely close...most fighters make less than 2000 a fight...95% probably!
Avatar
TooMuch
Sounds like an insider trying to keep others on the outside to me.
Avatar
Willsletters
Received an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university and a post-graduate degree (Masters or Law) from an accredited college or university;
Filed a verified application for certification as a Contract Advisor with the NFL Players Association within the specified dates;
Paid the non-refundable $2,500 application fee;
Attended a two-day seminar;
all of these but one are just designed to add beurocracy to keep others out of the field so there is less competition. Like most fields in america the hoops are added to keep the have nots out. What a joke
Avatar
Motmaitre
Agents and managers are really useful. They help fighters go broke faster. Just look at the typical champion boxer- makes millions in the ring from his blood, sweat and tears, and ten years after retirement is broke and brain-damaged.
Why? Managers, agents, financial advisers and all the other professional leeches who take a cut of all his earnings, and control his assets while the poor meathead 'focuses on what's important'- getting beaten up while the cowards in their suits rob him blind.
My advice to any fighter? Don't get a manager. Don't get an agent. Nobody trains 24 hours a day. Take time to educate yourself on basic matters in your contracts. Talk directly to sponsors, don't give anybody authority over your money, or sign away any rights. If there's a contract you don't understand, hire a lawyer for $2k to translate it into plain English.
Take my advice or end up broke and brain-damaged while all the Don King wannabes build mansions with your hard-earned money. Your choice.
Avatar
Mo Motmaitre
you're over-simplifying things...u neglect to mention how that brain damage CAUSES reckless behavior with money (giving money to your cousin's cousin just cuz he's your cousin's cousin, etc.), and u also neglect to mention the amount of work involved in soliciting sponsors, filling out paperwork, etc. (just like the article mentioned). those boxers are broke cuz they were driving $300,000 sports cars when they could have been driving a $30,000 reliable ford or something and invested the remaining $270,000. u also neglect to mention that IF that boxer HAD invested that $270,000 (which is just an arbitrary number), investing money is no easy task. it's time consuming and requires some knowledge and experience.
i think your advice is good for someone who is very exceptional and can juggle training full time with the entire business side of things. however, most are not exceptional, and thus, need good agents/managers (not the blood-sucking type).
Avatar
Micmart3000
This article is ridiculous. Written by an insider trying to keep others from entering the business. So if i get an undergraduate degree in interior design and attend a few seminars (& of course pay the hefty fee) then I am qualifed to represent fighters>? what a joke. In fact None of the qualifications mentioned do anything to make a person a good agent or not...only increase the red tape and income for the fighting organizations...not the fighters. Let anyone enter the market and try and become an agent.... the good ones will flourish and the bad ones will not, that is how an open market is supposed to work. And the analogy about checking the background of your real estate agent is even more ridiculous that this article is.
Avatar
Alca06062
As much as I don't wanna see any fighter get screwed by an agent lets be honest, MMA still doesn't have properly qualified refs or judges still and finding someone you trust with your day to day affairs is something that a fighter has "some" control over. While a crummy ref or a judge that can't count or that doesn't have a clue about MMA is a much bigger problem that a fighter can't control at all. So let's work on getting more qualified refs and judges befor we talk about a masters for a guy who books the plane tickets....
AvatarMike Hauben Alca06062
For sure, I don't care about the guys who just book plane tickets either. But for managers who actually do things that the fighters can't do themselves... they should be knowledgeable.
.......................................
If you have proof that Fighter's Agent is good, please let a comment here.
Also if you have proof that Fighter's Agent is not good, please let a comment here too.
___________________________________________
Want to be a Fighter? You Can Build Your Body To Be A Fighter !
Get it Here
I have the technic and way to do it.___________________________________________
Need More Detail ? contact me !!
Want to encourage me to keep blogging ?
Please send me some money at Paypal
Any small amount is welcome , even 10 cents is good for me.
My Paypal Account is : ksw.industries@gmail.com
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