The Inevitable 2024 Pros Switching Sponsors Thread

[simes549]

So Chandler Kramer's Instagram today says "The next chapter begins... sponsorship announcement Thursday."

I just hope it is not {insert a brand you dislike here } but I hope he does well this season.

 

[Nale72]

 

[TheOtherBill]

I hope they design a "Dad-putt" disc for him.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

I hope they design a "Dad-putt" disc for him.

It'll be interesting to see they make him a new putter or use an existing one. He putted the Macana and if he wants a similar putter, the Jack Rabbit is the closest beaded version. The Blue Bonnet is a non-beaded version with almost identical dimensions as the Macana (minus the small bead). I don't know that anyone has set out to specifically design a putter meant to be "Dad-Putt", but it would be cool to see the end result if a manufacturer set out to create one for that specific form.

 

[geebob]

So Chandler Kramer's Instagram today says "The next chapter begins... sponsorship announcement Thursday."

And as it turns out, PastorofMuppets was 100% correct, as ...



I can totally see why he needed all of January for that. Well, the video isn't bad, but it's not exactly Scorsese. I hope he does well this season, but these non-announcements are annoying.

 

[R-Ogre]

Aaaand DGPT switching sponsors for live scoring. This seems bad for UDisc?

 

[@CD-]

The capabilities and stats that UDisc has been implementing (which DGN commentators have made significant use of) will no longer be available if the scoring isn't being tracked there. As far as I know, the PDGA live cannot capture detailed stats the same way UDisc is (C1x, C2 putting/fairway hits, strokes gained, OB rate, etc...). Maybe some improvements will be rolled out but I don't expect like for like storage/stat keeping from PDGA live scoring.

"We are excited for the possibilities that this new platform will bring," said Baker Helton, VP of Business Administration for the DGPT. "Hosting our own scores and stats is the first step towards being able to use our data for further fan engagement and to reach new audiences. We will be able to provide third-party access to our scores and statistics that can be used by sports news organizations or for gaming, such as fantasy and wagering. We are looking forward to our fans being able to interact with disc golf in new ways in the future."

DGPT Announces New Scores & Stats Platform Powered by PDGA Live & StatMando - Disc Golf Pro Tour

The Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT) will transition to a new technology service provider for recording and displaying live scores and competition stats.

www.dgpt.com

I wonder if UDisc didn't want to open up their stats for 3rd party accessors the DGPT is thinking of marketing to. One more thing DGPT is trying to monetize.

"Now with more time to focus on our core product, the UDisc app, we look forward to delivering more innovations to the everyday player."

https://udisclive.com/update

I assume they weren't profiting much from UDisclive apart from the advertising/mentions driving adoption of their scoring app for casual rounds and the advertising banners/player sponsorship info on the UDisclive webpage. Managing the UDisclive for the DGPT weekend events probably took up a large amount of time especially early on in DGPT & UDisc's existence. I'm sure the founders & any developers they have since hired on are happy to not have weekends being booked up for managing the events though they have added more event related functionality to the app. The recently announced increase in annual subscription cost for UDisc is probably partly to cover the lost revenue from UDisclive but also increases in the scale of operations & inflation - they are now providing more with the free version than ever before though.

 

[Dcinmd]

And as it turns out, PastorofMuppets was 100% correct, as ...

I can totally see why he needed all of January for that. Well, the video isn't bad, but it's not exactly Scorsese. I hope he does well this season, but these non-announcements are annoying.

How do you know he was not in last minute discussions with manufactures but couldn't reach favorable terms?

 

[DanJon]

How do you know he was not in last minute discussions with manufactures but couldn't reach favorable terms?

Potentially, or maybe he didn't have any offers and is saving face?

As a touring pro, why wouldn't you take any financial support versus very minor support from non-manufacturers?

Most manufacturers seem to be open to side sponsors these days, so can't see a situation where if he signed with someone, it would significantly limit his other options that much.

Or that a small deal with a manufacturer would put too many restrictions on you as a player.

Lone Star basically copied other companies discs, so it's not like he couldn't adapt to other offerings.

I'm guessing we don't see him at the big tournaments this year unless he has a shop/retail sponsor footing his bills.

 

[biscoe]

The capabilities and stats that UDisc has been implementing (which DGN commentators have made significant use of) will no longer be available if the scoring isn't being tracked there. As far as I know, the PDGA live cannot capture detailed stats the same way UDisc is (C1x, C2 putting/fairway hits, strokes gained, OB rate, etc...). Maybe some improvements will be rolled out but I don't expect like for like storage/stat keeping from PDGA live scoring.

Between PDGA Live and Stat Mando I will be surprised if the level of detail is not similar.

DGPT Announces New Scores & Stats Platform Powered by PDGA Live & StatMando - Disc Golf Pro Tour

The Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT) will transition to a new technology service provider for recording and displaying live scores and competition stats.

www.dgpt.com

I wonder if UDisc didn't want to open up their stats for 3rd party accessors the DGPT is thinking of marketing to. One more thing DGPT is trying to monetize.

Solid hypothesis IMO.

 

[geebob]

How do you know he was not in last minute discussions with manufactures but couldn't reach favorable terms?

Could be, but the timeline was...
December 7 - announces that he's leaving Lone Star
December 28 - says that he "decided on who I'm signing with" and will announce in January.
January 30 - announces that he'll make a sponsorship announcement on Thursday; in comments says that it was delayed due to the time it took to produce the video.
February 1 - announces that he won't have a disc sponsor and will be "open bag."

So, I agree that he could have had some failed negotiations early in January, but definitely did an announcement "fake out" this week. I'm still a fan and hope he does well. It seems like he's put together a pretty good plan for this year and I hope it works out for him.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

According to his Facebook Chandler is rocking the "multiple small sponsors" approach. He has sportsacks, a bag sponsor, a beef jerky sponsor, a couple disc golf store sponsors, Discology, and appears to have hooked up with Dropship as well (Hofstra former marketing guy from Lone Star's new online store business). According to the comments section that basically (I'm paraphrasing) a few of the manufacturers have voiced their frustration of sponsoring players and paying for their travel and tournament expenses for players outside the top 10-15 that don't move product and create profit return. And as a result the player contract offers are on the lower end, based much less on your skill level, but more on your marketability, reach, and sales potential. We've been hearing similar things from people like Nate Perkins (who represents a lot of players in negotiations), and have seen several instances this offseason where players weren't offered extensions in the amount they "felt" they deserved and moved on. I do expect to see a lot more of mid level pros going the open bag route through places like Infinite or similar and stacking smaller disc golf product deals to subsidize as the sport continues to evolve and bring in different forms of sponsorship revenue streams. And I do expect, in an over saturated disc market, to continue to see a draw back on manufacturers paying out large sponsorships to players outside of that elite top tier in both skill and marketability. We shall see though.

 

[@CD-]

Between PDGA Live and Stat Mando I will be surprised if the level of detail is not similar.

The current StatMando page & calculated stats are driven by the data available in the PDGA database via their developer API. So just hole by hole scoring and the tournament results pages. I don't really know if the PDGA will add a shot by shot scoring granularity to the scorekeeping app just for elite/major tournaments. Since all players/caddies will have to keep score due to 2024 rule changes I do not expect they would not add the shot by shot tracking burden to players. So they will lose OB rate, fairway hits, putting stats, and all the calculated stats that UDisc has been providing.

Just kinda curious if commentators will continue to reference the stats that UDisc has popularized (C1x, C2, fairway hit, OB) and DGPT events will still require the tassels for C1/C2.

 

[dehaas]

So it sounds like manufacturers aren't looking to spend money on players who aren't bringing much to the table?

I could see the collection of smaller sponsors working to a certain extent, especially if one was a retailer who would run custom stamped plastic on their site.

 

[TheOtherBill]

Ok stupid idea that will never work but DGCR is a fantasyland anyway.

The "little guys" like WhaleSac, TSA, Devo Patrol Hat Company, retailers, etc all pool their sponsor budget, or some of it, together and have players contract with that combined group. When one of those players wins, hits 50k subscribers, or whatever the measure of success is now, they would get a pre-agreed portion of that pool. Pay to play basically, and the better you're doing, the more you get. Instead of being tied to a player no matter how their season goes, the smaller companies can afford to substantially lower their risk of getting a full season of sponsored player rehab.

Ahh DGCR fantasies....

 

[geebob]

Instead of being tied to a player no matter how their season goes, the smaller companies can afford to substantially lower their risk of getting a full season of sponsored player rehab.

Sponsors provide a base level of support, so ideally a player isn't dependent on a good finish just to stay on tour. We're fortunate that there is enough of a level of support right now to provide for good fields in both the MPO and FPO for most events. If sponsorship funds dry up, you might see fields for some of the out of the way events getting weaker, especially on the FPO side.

 

[DanJon]

Do you think we will see some top names miss BSF, Preserve and Des Moines in favor of the Euro schedule?

How many of these mid-level players with new (or no manufacturer) contracts will miss the Euro swing due to lower financial support?

 

[dehaas]

Do you think we will see some top names miss BSF, Preserve and Des Moines in favor of the Euro schedule?

How many of these mid-level players with new (or no manufacturer) contracts will miss the Euro swing due to lower financial support?

Yeah, I think you'll see the ones who can afford the Eurotrip make that choice, especially with Worlds being there in 2025?

I don't think it will necessarily be a bad thing for those who can't make the trip though. Somebody is bound to win an event stateside that might not have won with a stacked field. Could be enough of a boost in confidence to get them playing solid all the time or draw a lot more attention from sponsors.

 

[DanJon]

Turns out touring without a manufacturer sponsor is expensive.

Chandler Kramer is apparently now doing a mixed bag deal with Lone Star, Clash and AGL.

It's been said a million times, but this is probably the trend moving forward until small manufacturers don't see a return on the investment.

Makes sense for lower level pros who can't get a big enough deal ($$$) from one manufacturer.

 

[TheOtherBill]

Might see Jordan Castro getting dumped. MVP Eric stated they will have a statement soon about his recent 12-month suspension.

MVP_Eric · 7 hr. ago MVP Disc Sports, Community Manager I plan to update with an official statement when it's available.