(Step 1: Do work. Step 2: Receive bread. Photo courtesy of this set on Sherdog.)
The California State Athletic Commission has released payout figures for Saturday’s Strikeforce event, with headliner Frank Shamrock taking home a full 58% of the $633,445 disclosed payroll. And it looks like Strikeforce had to severely underpay a few of its fighters to make up for F-Sham’s hefty purse. Also, they don’t seem to like round numbers. The salaries are below, with some thoughts after the jump…
MAIN CARD FIGHTERS
– Frank Shamrock: $369,790
– Scott Smith: $49,940 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
– Gilbert Melendez: $49,890 (no win bonus)
– Nick Diaz: $39,950 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
– Brett Rogers: $39,940 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
– Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos: $18,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
– Benji Radach: $16,940
– Rodrigo Damm: $9,190
– Ron "Abongo" Humphries: $3,205
– Hitomi Akano: $1,450 (doesn’t include undisclosed extra cash from 11th-hour negotiations)
PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS
– Luke Rockhold: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Buck Meredith $1,540
– Eric Lawson $9,950 (includes $2,000 win bonus) def. Waylon Kennell $1,950
– Raul Castillo $6,890 (includes $3,500 win bonus) def. Brandon Michaels $1,500
– James Terry $3,940 (includes $2,000 win bonus) def. Zak Bucia $1,500
– Shingo Kohara $940 (no win bonus) def. Jeremy Tavares $940
Underpaid: No wonder Nick Diaz is so pissed off all the time — his to-show salary was just 8% of Frank Shamrock’s. As a headliner (and honestly, just as big an MMA star as Frank), Diaz should have earned at least double what he took home, but maybe there wasn’t any more money left in the coffers after Shamrock’s bloated salary was paid out. (Remember, Strikeforce only earned about $750,000 off the gate.) And can we talk about Hitomi Akano? Holy shit. They bring her in from Japan to get murdered by a woman who’s at least one weight-class above her (and turned out to be two), and they were going to pay her less than $2,000 for her troubles? I hope those final negotiations were fruitful, because that’s freakin’ criminal.
Overpaid: Yeah, I know Frank Shamrock has been carrying Strikeforce on his back for the last three years, but it’s time to start paying him market value, because he’s seriously affecting their profit margin. Plus, being a punching bag for a round-and-a-half shouldn’t entitle you to that much cash. Frank’s headliner days are coming to an end, and it might be time for a Vera-esque renegotiation.
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Comments
Wed, 04/15/09 - 07:34
if i was nick diaz i would just start stabbing people.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 07:36
Damn! I'm a 6'1" 200+ pound man and I wouldn't even face Cyborg for $2k!
Wed, 04/15/09 - 07:37
no doubt frank was overpaid. we should have had to give up someof his purse for getting handled for a round and half. what did he land like 10 punches all fight. and i fell bad for that poor little japanese girl. to have to fight a man and get handles like that was a sad sight. it made me want to go kik a puppy for fun.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 07:41
Will someone please tell the MMA promotions that we fans don't give a damn about seeing the Shamrocks fight anymore? It is criminal that Frank Shamrock made almost $330,000 more than Nick Diaz.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 07:42
You gotta love that the winners on the undercard couldn't even afford mediocre tickets to a UFC event.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 07:46
Frank Shamrock "The World's Most Dangerous Payroll Weight"
Wed, 04/15/09 - 07:58
this is fucked
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:03
There should be a clause for over paid fighter that lose to give a percentage to the winner. Nick was robbed ! Now wonder he grows his own stuff. He cant afford to buy the good stuff.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:05
Fuck that "abongo" douche he comes from a shitty BET show called iron ring? The same show that had Floyd Mayfager as a mma coach? The same guy who always talks shit about mma. Fuck them all.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:05
What the fuck? Nick Diaz should have franks purse.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:07
Another thought. If they would cut the Shamrocks of the worlds pay by says 150K, they could pay the Nicks and the Brett Rogers of the world .. say... 80K , then they will be able to train full time and not give up precious time changing tires just to pay the bills! Way to help grow up and coming stars! I would rather watch a whole show full of Nicks and Grim level fighters than having one Shamrock level name.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:08
I would fight cyborg for a $50 dollar Wal-Mart gift card.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:09
At least Cyborg can finally pay to complete that gender reassignment surgury.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:13
It's not uncommon for foreign fighters to get VERY little immediate pay and much more in other ways. that way, the US only taxes them on 1400 bucks....the 12k she gets paid via Japan somehow only gets taxed once.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:15
How does Hitomi pay for her friggin' flight? Radach? $16K? Really? I know fightin' ain't no way to get rich, but please.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:17
Jesus tap dancing Christ. If Nick was pissed he didn't get any oil at the photo shoot... This shit is gonna make his head explode for sure.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:28
The UFC should get cut some serious slack after seeing that abysmal payroll. Those fighters need to fire whoever their agents/managers are.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:32
You Get Paid WHat You NEgotiate. Period. Simple. I guess Vera Was Really Smart To TURN DOWN THE TUF offer.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:34
No wonder why the Diaz's are always pissed off, Frank was paid 9 times what Nick was and Nick kicked his ass!
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:37
In other news : Nick Diaz stops training and tries to figure out how many dime-bags he can buy with 40,000$
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:40
I hate fighters named Shamrock!!! I wish Ken and Frank would have to fight to the death. And the winner gets......death!
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:46
Lay off Frank. Dude had orthodontist bills, okay?
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:47
Fight for a purse, not a salary- winner gets the big numbers and loser gets the chump change. Might help some of these has-beens rethink their careers.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 08:57
Hitomi would have made more on Bully Beatdown.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 09:04
deffinetlly wrong but remember those fighters get sponsors as well so all is not for lose plus theirs no telling how much was really paid to them.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 09:28
is $940 actually worth the amount of work that goes into training for a fight, let alone for an organization like strike force. id understand if it was some event held in a ware house or a garage but come on, they can pay their fighters more than a grand. After all, shamrock lost and still made a over a third of a million.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 09:43
Dear Sponsors, Thank you high profile corporate sponsors! Now we can REALLY fuck fighters in the bum bum. (Without braces.) - Strikeforce
Wed, 04/15/09 - 09:43
What ever happened to prize fights where there was an actual "prize" they were fighting for? I get it that Frank Shamrock probably wouldn't show up if he weren't guaranteed a huge chunk, but I would like to see less show money for a big name like him, and a larger win purse up for grabs. It really sucks that a guy like Diaz beats a huge name in a fight that a large percentage of seemingly knowledgeable fight pundits figured he would lose, and all he gets is a win bonus that is 1/37th as big as what the person he beat got for just showing up. What happened to the good old days where boxing would put up a massive win bonus for whoever came out on top? Why not pay Frank $100,000 to show up, and pay Diaz $50,000 to show, and put a $250,000 purse up for whoever wins the fight? That would put something big on the line every time there is a major fight, even if there is no belt involved. It would also encourage some of these fighters to take things more seriously, because you wouldn't see them come in lazy and undertrained if the majority of their money came from winning. I know they need some show money to cover training costs in case they lose, since they can't win them all. Just saying I would prefer more in win money and less in show money. It would make for better and more interesting fights.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 09:51
u might as well have had frank sell the tickets and just pocket it all...wow. if strikeforce would have deducted 100k from shamrock, the rest of the fighters would have gotten fair pay. it just seems to proportionally off...
Wed, 04/15/09 - 09:53
@ Imbecile: completely agree. this is what is screwing over organizations...
Wed, 04/15/09 - 10:02
That shit ain't cool homey. Whoever handled Diaz's Strikeforce contract should be motherfucking slapped in the face... bitch!
Wed, 04/15/09 - 10:16
How the hell did Frank Glamrock get nearly $370,000 to lose? All hype and all name, and no skills. Well, not any more....
Wed, 04/15/09 - 10:17
Very true Bonk! And 10 grand bonus to santos for that ridiculous mis-match? I pray there's some serious compensation going Hitomi's way after the re-negotiation. Still, if you don't have to cut weight to make your division, and you're not a heavyweight, I'd consider moving (or in this case, staying) down honey.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 10:21
You Get Paid WHat You NEgotiate. Period. Simple. You Get Paid WHat You NEgotiate. Period. Simple. You Get Paid WHat You NEgotiate. Period. Simple. You Get Paid WHat You NEgotiate. Period. Simple. You Get Paid WHat You NEgotiate. Period. Simple. ^^^^Truth
Wed, 04/15/09 - 10:43
"Do you know how much weed you can buy with $40,000?...that's right, not enough!" says Nick Diaz.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 11:01
Any weed is better than no weed!
Wed, 04/15/09 - 11:03
The reason why Franks pay is so high is the same reason you watched this show. To see Frank, win or lose. If you say other wise, you are a fucking liar. Everybody tuned in to see Frank win, or some of us to see Frank get his ass beat, plane and simple. If Nick was fighting Harvey Wippelmen, who the fuck would have watched the show?
Wed, 04/15/09 - 11:21
harvey wippleman is a bad MF
Wed, 04/15/09 - 11:35
So, Nick DID end up tasting Francois' Pee Pee after all...
Wed, 04/15/09 - 11:39
Looks like Frank is business man 1st.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 11:41
poor nick i bet they pay him in weed too. lol
Wed, 04/15/09 - 11:51
Looks like Strikeforce is taking a cue from Affliction and EliteXC. Keep this up, and we may finally see the UFC monopolize this whole fucking industry. We can only hope they pull their financial heads out of their asses. At least long enough for the Carano vs. Cyborg fight.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 12:14
40G's ain't too bad in this economic climate. Shitttt. dude comes in, fights for 7 mins and makes 40G's? Hes lucky I don't punch him in the nuts, and through him a crinkly C Note.
Wed, 04/15/09 - 11:15
I was watching to see Diaz I could care less about Frank, I would have watched Nick fight anyone.
Thu, 04/16/09 - 04:46
That shit is completely outragerous... I am severely disappointed in those numbers.... srsly..
Thu, 04/16/09 - 06:53
Fights for 7 minutes ... yeah .. smart comment - you show a mind-boggling understanding of what's involved in that.
Thu, 04/16/09 - 04:55
Its not that Frank was paid too much ( o.k it is,lol ) but that Diaz was paid too little in comparison. In actual fact no top ranked fighter should be makin much more than a few hundred grand for a fight,seriously its fuckin rediculous, you have a TON of unemployment and their are literally millions of poor bastards who won't even make 40G in a YEAR! time to get real. I think Franks Marquee value just dropped BIG-TIME, he won't be getting no 3+ to lose anymore. And lets not even hear of a return match against Cung, Frank is finished as any kind of serious threat against top flight opponents.
Fri, 11/18/11 - 06:22
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