On the face of things, the UFC’s new $7.7 billion broadcast deal seems like great progress for the sport, but things may not be as positive as they seem.
This Monday, UFC boss Dana White announced the end of the PPV model in the UFC, confirming a new $7.7 billion U.S. broadcast deal has been reached with Paramount.
Rightly so, fans in the United States are pretty ecstatic about the news, meaning they will no longer have to fork out $70+ for every single PPV event and will only require a Paramount+ subscription.
However, as pointed out by one of White’s biggest rivals, Jake Paul, this could leave fighters in a bit of an uncertain position for a few reasons.
The UFC’s new $7.7 billion deal could be great or terrible for fighters
In the announcement, it was confirmed that the network will broadcast all 13 marquee events, formerly the numbered PPV events, along with 30 Fight Night offerings.
Initially to some fans this is a win, as it means the schedule will remain the same as it has throughout the UFC’s partnership with ESPN.
However, it is fair to say over the last year or so, the UFC product has diminished significantly as they are simply just trying to fill their quota with events, with the quality of cards seriously lacking, especially the Fight Night events.
With their new deal now not even relying on them selling PPV’s, could we see numbered cards lacking in depth as the Fight Night cards do?
Whether the events do lack in quality, it is fair to say that the sport will likely see a big increase in popularity with it now being far more accessible, despite Paramount+ ranking low amongst its competitors like Netflix and ESPN.
Another seemingly huge issue is that without PPV sales, fighters will now no longer receive PPV points. PPV points were a big bargaining power for big stars negotiating contracts, however with this no longer a thing, what will replace it?
In other major sports leagues, players are guaranteed a revenue share and in the NFL, it is as high as 50%.
It is yet to be known whether the UFC will adopt a similar approach, however, with there being no fighters union, nothing is guaranteed.
Time will tell whether this is a win or big loss for fighters
The onus will likely fall on the fighters to negotiate this as part of their contracts, which for some of the lesser known fighters who may not be ranked, this could prove difficult.
At this point, the news is too raw to draw any definitive answers from, and only time will tell whether fighters will be way better off, as they should be considering the whopping $7.7 billion figure, or whether things will continue in the way they have for several years.