Dan Henderson looking to get a Pay Increase with next deal
Posted on September 14, 2011, 08:17 PM by Trent Reinsmith
When Dan Henderson moved from the UFC to Strikeforce in December 2009, UFC President Dana White remarked that the money Henderson was asking for from the UFC during contract negotiations would have made him, “The highest paid fighter in the organization.”
The contract that Henderson signed with Strikeforce at that time has now expired. During his stint in Strikeforce Henderson went 3-1, earning the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship. Henderson’s last fight under his Strikeforce contract saw him knocking out Fedor Emelianenko in the first round.
At this point Henderson is a free agent, but judging from a recent interview he’ll be looking for an increase in pay with his next contract. “For me it’s about the money and about the fights as well. I think both organizations definitely have the fights, but we’ll see. The pay-per-view [percentage] definitely could make a difference as well and I think either way, I’m hoping to get a pay increase after my last three fights, but you never know.” – read more at CagePotato.com via a ClinchGear video interview.
What do you think LowKick’ers, does Dan Henderson deserve an increase in pay with his next deal?
Photo: Dan Henderson at a workout session at the Legends gym on March 17, 2010 in Hollywood, California. Francis Specker
Comments
Pay the legend....
300k per fight isn't enough? UFC owns strikeforce now.. so what organisation is going to pay him more? I doubt he's getting a raise!
as much as i love dan henderson, i dont think he has the capability to sell out arena's in minutes like your anderson silvas, GSP's and Brock Lesnar. sure we all know dans a legend but his legendary status comes from fights well in the past now, the sport has grown so much, the ufc has focussed on marketing its most dominant fighters. i still here people refer to MMA as 'UFC', and i personally dont think dan can be marketed in the same way as GSP,silva, jones etc.
Well he's like any other economic resource. As demand goes up...you know the rest. The man's stock has increased loads and a unification clash with Jon Jones is a sure PPV seller. Basic market economics, the man's in demand!
yeah isnt this what got you fired from the ufc in the first place ?
"...with Jon Jones" is a tad preemptive. Millions around the world will be hoping Rampage gets his belt back!!!
Me included!
Of all things that one could say about Dana he is not stupid. He doesn't just pull numbers out of his a.ss when it comes to fighter salaries. If he can make money from a fighter he will.
Guys like GSP, Silva, and Lesnar are able to bring people to the events, PPV buys, and dollars to the company and fighters which is why they get paid what they do.
If Dan wants to make Silva money then he needs to get today's fans, not just the die hards from the pride days, to want to see him fight... then he will get paid and we will see more great fights.
I think what he always says is he wants to put on the fights that the fans want to see.
To answer your question... IMO I think its in the middle somewhere.
I would say the perfect compromise is to add a 5th element to fighter pay. As it stands right now, there are 4 quantifiable elements (not counting any "locker room" bonuses that Dana gives): 1) Base Pay, 2) Win Bonus, 3) ...of the Night bonus, 4) Sponsorships.
They should add a 5th: PPV percentage, with cuts going to everyone who was on the main card (since they were the PPV). That way people aren't just paid more because Dana thinks they can sell a PPV, they are paid more BECAUSE they helped sell the PPV.
I agree I sure hope someone with some stroke comes along and forms a fighters union so they can lobby against the UFC for more compensation especially after their careers....
I've been in a union. They are not perfect (especially since Reagan took most of their claws away) but what you need to understand is that for everything you hear in the media there is a whole lot you don't hear. I worked for a municipality and we had a really bad rep for being lazy due the the local paper. Every time a park got rehabed there would be a photo in the paper of the community group planting some flowers and the CG would get all the credit. What they neglected to mention there or in their atack pieces was that it was us city workers that did all of the real work. Between that and the unsafe work conditions (four guys in a van with two seats fe)we didn't feel too bad about making demands and striking.
So he wants a title he doesn't deserve and money he probably doesn't deserve (let's remember he already left the company once for more money).
Regardless of whether Hendo deserves title shots and unsustainably high Strikeforce-level paychecks...
I just think it's not befitting of a legend and former champ to go around declaring his demands publicly.
To take another sport for example: the public may know Derek Jeter is in contract negotiations, but we won't see him quoted around the internet saying he wants this, that and the other.
MLB and the UFC are run drastically different, and that includes how negotiations happen and athletes are paid. There is no comparison. BTW an athlete at the level of Dan Henderson in MLB makes maybe ten times his paycheck or more. The UFC has grown a lot and I think that the salaries should grow a little more.
Hendo should get paid fairly well by Dana--Hendo is a marketable name fighter. Also, endorsements would soar and maybe exceed the UFC salary, so signing up with the UFC will make Hendo millions one way or the other.
I hope he signs.
Henderson isn't going to get Strikeforce money plain and simple. They pretty well overpaid him to get him away from the UFC in the first place, and now that they have him back. Dan definitely deserves to get paid but there is no way he deserves to be the top paid man in the organization, probably not even top 5. There just isn't going to be the return on that money.
This is the issue that Zuffa are dealing with now with their Strikeforce acquisition, because of how that organization was previously run. Top guys like Henderson, Overeem, and Diaz could hold the company pretty well hostage for money, first class tickets for hangers on, leniency on press appearances and what not.
I think Henderson will get a fair deal, and he might not be happy with it at first but I think he'll eventually take it. No one else is going to pay more.
Pay the man what he deserves!
Henderson has been fighting since 1997!
and since 1998 in the UFC!
you would think after so many years and championships
he would get paid good money in a sport that gets half a million PPV's almost every month , but no he just recently got raise to 250,000 per fight while guys like Lesnar gets over 500,000 in less than a year after his first fight
in every job you get a raise after some years, and he has been around for some while now and had some great achievments in the sport.
Dana needs to open his wallet...
If you compare MMA to Boxing, these guys getting paid next to nothing !!! And anyone don't think Henderson deserves a raise is an Idiot. Just ask yourself this question, If you're Henderson, and the UFC is doing this good, would you want to get paid more ?
I dont know what dope Hendo is smoking but he seems to forget that he was cut from UFC. He really didnt beat anyone worth beans in the Ufc when he was fighting for them. He wants to fight Jones? Give me a break, he got an old fashion ass whippin from the Spider in 2008. Jones is the same caliber phenom as Silva. Jones fights guys and makes it look easy...Shogun got his lunch money taken from Jones like it was taking candy from a baby... Hendo needs to enjoy his two lower caliber belts and shut his face.....
l he left the UFC because of money and he was successful in SF and all tha says is that there is a difference in the talent,,, at least thats what it appears he couldnt beat the UFC champ at middleweight and he fought him at LT Heavyweight andhe is talking title unification?????? is it just me???
Check that I meant that he couldn't beat the UFC middleweight champ and he fought him at LT heavyweight......also personally he will get killed if he fought Jon Jones.............
Give him the money. Big heart, great skills, and a fan favorite. He's paid his dues!
If Tito Ortiz has done enough to earn a million dollars a fight, then Dan Henderson deserves a minimum of a million a fight.
I think Dan should get paid too but in fairness Tito has done much more for the UFC in the past and has the most fights of anyone in the UFC as well as being the 205 champ for 5 defences. So although Dan would kick his behind Tito was the bigger star in his day for the UFC especially. Everyone watched Tito those who loved and hated him, I being the latter.