Adidas sponsors Paul McBeth

[turbosteve]

Trickle down economics doesn't work. You mention Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus but you forgot to mention their rivals such as Ben Hogan and Gary Player. They also did not win every tournament and their competitors could expect to make a solid paycheck if they made the cut. This is not the case in disc golf. If you finish 20th in a PGA tournament you can expect to make a couple hundred grand. If you finish 20th in a PDGA tournament you will probably not break even. This means that a lot of touring pros don't tour as much because it is not financially worth it. It also means most European players don't come over to the US which reduces potential viewers in countries where the sport is broadcast on national tv.

 

[threevok]

Perhaps the PDGA can take 90% of McBeth's winnings and endorsements and redistribute them to the other pros.

 

[bradharris]

It also means most European players don't come over to the US which reduces potential viewers in countries where the sport is broadcast on national tv.

If the fanbase is stronger in Europe, doesn't it make more sense for top American players to go over there rather than trying to get European players to come here?

 

[TimSyl]

Trickle down economics doesn't work. You mention Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus but you forgot to mention their rivals such as Ben Hogan and Gary Player. They also did not win every tournament and their competitors could expect to make a solid paycheck if they made the cut. This is not the case in disc golf. If you finish 20th in a PGA tournament you can expect to make a couple hundred grand. If you finish 20th in a PDGA tournament you will probably not break even. This means that a lot of touring pros don't tour as much because it is not financially worth it. It also means most European players don't come over to the US which reduces potential viewers in countries where the sport is broadcast on national tv.

That's the point. IF PM can get sponsorship $ and it shows to work out for his sponsors, MAYBE it will prompt more sponsors to put more $ into the game. In this case, the "trickle down" MAY work.

 

[turbosteve]

Perhaps the PDGA can take 90% of McBeth's winnings and endorsements and redistribute them to the other pros.

What a ridiculous straw man argument. I'm not saying the PDGA should take 90% of his winnings. I'm saying they should make payouts deeper so more pros will travel more. This will increase more viewers which will hopefully bring more sponsors.

 

[turbosteve]

If the fanbase is stronger in Europe, doesn't it make more sense for top American players to go over there rather than trying to get European players to come here?

Well a lot of the top American pros did go over to Europe last year. A lot of them are not going to all of the top tournaments in Europe this year because the payouts are not deep and the tournaments are in different months so this makes it hard for them to play all of the events.

 

[bhadella]

What a ridiculous straw man argument. I'm not saying the PDGA should take 90% of his winnings. I'm saying they should make payouts deeper so more pros will travel more. This will increase more viewers which will hopefully bring more sponsors.

The problem isn't how deep the payouts go, it's the size of the payout pool of cash being distributed that is the real issue. Deeper pools would only dilute the opportunity of the guys consistently in the top 10 from having any semblance of a career. Let's be honest, any of these guy making less than $1K a week on tour are scraping by (once you account for how much travel actually costs).

 

[threevok]

What a ridiculous straw man argument. I'm not saying the PDGA should take 90% of his winnings. I'm saying they should make payouts deeper so more pros will travel more. This will increase more viewers which will hopefully bring more sponsors.

You are wrong.

 

[Royalhghnss]

Yeah... that Pasadena tournament isn't "free" as stated either.

We'll be filming that "free" tourney this weekend. We'll even have drone footage for hole previews. Gonna try to get up a next day vid of Saturday's action.

 

[tbird888]

Shutting up the idiots who thought the greatest player in the sport was just getting free shoes...

Hahaha!


At least Dana gets it.

Pretty sure it is referencing his deal with Innova, not Adidas.

And....SHOTS FIRED

 

[agentdozzer]

We need to do something about the income inequality in pro disc golf. You can't have one guy making a ton of money and everyone else scraping by. This is why I like the Disc Golf Pro Tour model.

Commi pig if others want to get paid like Mcbeth, they need to earn it.

 

[corin_brown]

What a ridiculous straw man argument. I'm not saying the PDGA should take 90% of his winnings. I'm saying they should make payouts deeper so more pros will travel more. This will increase more viewers which will hopefully bring more sponsors.

I think I get your point about not enough pros making enough money to really compete but making payouts deeper is not the answer to that question, in my view. If anything, payouts are too deep already. I see that some big tournaments pay half of the pro field. I think that's absolutely nuts. I get why they do it (basically trying to maximize the size of the field and resulting prize pool) but I think the payout cutoff should be more like the way poker does it - paying out 10% of the field. You can't make it exactly 10% because that would really diminish the size of the field and reduce the prize pool. I think the answer is somewhere in between 50% and 10%. But I'm not a TD... Paying closer to 10% of the field would mean taking home way more $ and those pros would be way more able to compete with McBeth, etc.

 

[DiscinMiller]

People look at models of others sports like golf way too much. I am a stick golfer so im not hating on the game. But golf is an elitist sport with LOTS of money in it and there always has been. Audamars Piquet, Richard Mille, Rolex, Porsche, BMW sponsor players and events. The prize pool of these events is 0% taken from player entry fees. There arent any. If you are a qualified exempt pga tour member you pay 100 buck in annual dues and have to pay locker fees weekly so the tournament can offer certain player amenities but otherwise, the million dollar first prize is being awarded to someone who put no money into the prize pool.

As long as PDGA has to rely on entry fees for a large portion of payouts, we can never have a truly deep and fair price pool. If its too deep your best pros wont make enough money to make it worth their while, and too shallow and the lower level touring players have no reason to play.
They need more money in the game, but it doesnt draw large scale corporate sponorship, and probably never will.

This is why Paul getting a deal with adidas is a big deal. He is the face of disc golf right now, and if adidas wants to pump some money into the sport im good with it
a

 

[corin_brown]

As long as PDGA has to rely on entry fees for a large portion of payouts, we can never have a truly deep and fair price pool.
a

^^^^This guy gets it.

 

[markmcc]

Well, based on this thread and Adidas sponsoring McBeth, I jumped on their Winter Sale and purchased a pair of Terrex Swift R GTX shoes for $67.50. I got them today and they look and feel great. The single piece sole seems like it will hold up well. I'll be playing in them tomorrow (concrete tees) and Sunday (gravel tees) and look forward to giving them a workout.

 

[corin_brown]

Here's a little perspective on PM's Adidas deal. I watched him during rounds 1 & 3 of the WTO yesterday & today. Although he was wearing some nice black Adidas shoes for both of the rounds I watched, during round 1 he was wearing a shirt with a Nike swoosh on the sleeve and during round 3 he was wearing a shirt with a Puma logo on the breast.

 

[onemilemore]

Here's a little perspective on PM's Adidas deal. I watched him during rounds 1 & 3 of the WTO yesterday & today. Although he was wearing some nice black Adidas shoes for both of the rounds I watched, during round 1 he was wearing a shirt with a Nike swoosh on the sleeve and during round 3 he was wearing a shirt with a Puma logo on the breast.

Am I the only one who imagines McBeth combing the racks of Ross and TJ Maxx looking for sweet dri-fit polos? I'm sure that's not the case, but it's a solid strategy.

And I'm a bit surprised he wasn't wearing some bright, peacocked-out Adidas shoes to show off the new deal. I know I would. Maybe he's saving it for the Memorial.

 

[Halcón]

Pretty sure he's been getting free polos for years. Then passes them down to Anthony Barela. (Who is probably taller than Paul now)

 

[corin_brown]

Am I the only one who imagines McBeth combing the racks of Ross and TJ Maxx looking for sweet dri-fit polos? I'm sure that's not the case, but it's a solid strategy.

And I'm a bit surprised he wasn't wearing some bright, peacocked-out Adidas shoes to show off the new deal. I know I would. Maybe he's saving it for the Memorial.

I was surprised too. When I went to Oak Grove yesterday, I expected to see PM decked out in head to toe Adidas shwag, especially after all the hubbub surrounding his new deal. But the only Adidas he was wearing were on his feet. Not even and Adidas on his socks. And I'm sure he's only wearing what he's contracted to wear, otherwise there's no incentive for Adidas to offer him any more.

I also have wondered for a while why a player of his stature would ever show any logos that he wasn't being compensated to show. In absolute terms, if a player like PM is wearing a logo of a company that is not compensating him, it's like giving away free advertising. If he ever gets an agent, that'll stop.

 

[DanJon]

Perhaps the Innova (?) jersey he was wearing was printed on a Nike dri-fit.

Maybe he just hasn't had the time to get some Innova printed on his Adidas swag.