The New York Times is really on a bit of an MMA kick lately. With the UFC potentially on its way to New York next year, I expect this to continue. Their latest piece looks at sponsorships in MMA and the increasing acceptance of MMA as a viable option among corporate sponsors:
I think the door has opened,” said Bob Dorfman, the executive creative director of Baker Street Partners, a San Francisco-based advertising and marketing agency. “A lot of mainstream advertisers who were pooh-poohing it are looking at it seriously in their marketing mix.
Now that Mr. Evans holds the light heavyweight title, his manager, Jervis Cole, expects him to earn $700,000 to several million dollars in total endorsements in 2009. But mixed martial arts has a long way to go before its top fighters like Brock Lesnar, a champion in the heavyweight division, make the type of endorsement dollars that a star like Tiger Woods does.
That number sounds about right to me for Rashad based on what I know about top guy sponsorships. Rich Franklin’s manager also said once that Franklin made about $1,000,000 in sponsorships in 2007.