Bad Contracts Abound

                                                                                                     (GSP, on the left, punching Nick Diaz, on the right.)

After a three-year sabbatical, former Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, or GSP, decided that it was time to return to the UFC. Though, during the summer time, there were rumblings that St. Pierre was plotting a return to the sports’ most prestigious fight promotion, nothing ever materialized. Now, after a shocking interview with Mixed Martial Arts’ (MMA) foremost journalistic voice, Ariel Helwani, we, presumably, understand why. In the chat with Helwani, GSP—the former face of the UFC—announced that he would be entering into free agency, opening the door for a potential exit from MMA’s most prestigious fight promotion, the UFC. Processing this astonishing announcement, many fans, fighters and journalists within the sport had a lot of questions. However, the most salient question people were asking themselves was, “Can GSP really do this? Isn’t he under contract?” And, indeed, it did not take long for the UFC brass to give the community-at-large their answer. No, they said, GSP can’t do this; he’s still under contract. Here is a quote by Zuffa, the company that owns the UFC. “Georges St-Pierre remains under an existing agreement with Zuffa, LLC as his MMA promoter…Zuffa intends to honor its agreement with St-Pierre and reserves its rights under the law to have St-Pierre do the same." To the average person, it may be strange that die-hards like me are getting so riled up over this development. They may say, “The UFC is right, if GSP is still under contract, then he has an obligation to complete it. What’s the big deal?” Though that perspective seems reasonable to people who are not fans of MMA, those close to the sport understand why GSP trying to back out of his contract is such a monumental event. What makes this story so important is that it goes to heart of one of the most contentious issues in the Mixed Martial Arts world—the issue of fighter contracts in the UFC. Exploitative and anarchic, the contracts doled out by the UFC have been at the center of the fight, no pun intended, for fair compensation and fighters’ rights.

            In response to the UFC denying GSP’s yearning to become a free agent, St. Pierre’s lawyer, James Quinn, responded in a brutally honest fashion.

Quinn, an attorney who has successfully led cases against the NBA, NFL and numerous other major entities in the past, compared the terms in St-Pierre's UFC contract to "something out of the 1940s." He said he hasn't seen language that restrictive in a sporting contract in 30 years, and that all past examples of similar deals have been found to be illegal once placed under the scrutiny of the law. He also cited the ongoing antitrust lawsuit currently being waged against the UFC by several former fighters. "You couldn't get away with any old contract in any of the other sports," Quinn said. "There is litigation in that aspect of a class-action lawsuit that challenges the contract as being illegal under the NHS laws. That case is ongoing, and I think that under the law's terms, I don't think the contract -- that formal contract -- is likely to stand up. Not in today's world. It's a pretty nice form of slavery."

Refusing to mince his words, Quinn articulated how many UFC fighters feel about the current

state of contract negotiations. And, although GSP is the one currently embroiled in contract negotiations, many fighters, including former featherweight champion Jose Aldo, have spoken about the need for the UFC to treat their fighters fairly. Specifically, many parties, including GSP, have called for the formation of a fighter union that can protect fighters and negotiate beneficial contracts. However, at every turn, the UFC has done everything they can to sabotage any effort to form a union. Whether it is Aldo telling the media that Dana White—the president of the UFC—offered him a bigger contract in exchange for his silence on the union issue, or the UFC sending deceiving emails to fighters warning them of the potential oppressiveness of union bosses, there is ample evidence to show how the idea of organizing fighters is an anathema in the eyes of ownership. And with the lack of an MMA Muhammad Ali Act, which secured a fixed amount of money for boxers, fighters often find themselves stuck in terrible contracts that lower their quality of life. Adam Szetela eloquently described this phenomenon in his Jacobin Magazine article, “The Bullies’ Club.”

The UFC maintains this disparity, which leaves some fighters driving Lamborghinis while others would be better off “emptying trash cans,” through its individual contractor model. Each fighter signs a contract for a certain number of fights and months of service that also designates specific pay for each fight. They earn more money if they win and make as little as half if they lose. In boxing, the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act established minimum purse standards. But no legal minimum regulates UFC pay. Fights aren’t their only source of income, though. White and the Fertitta brothers occasionally give some employees discretionary checks if they perform especially well or are deemed “loyal.” Fighters cannot quit to work for another promotion company, but the UFC has the right to either terminate or automatically extend their contracts. If fighters win a championship during the last fight on their contract, then they must fight again…Further, a non-disclosure clause bars fighters from publicly discussing their salaries. Information has filtered out, however, from fighters who have broken their contracts in protest or whose court cases against the UFC have been released. Zev Eigen — a former Yale law professor — notes that the UFC’s contracts violate the Thirteenth Amendment, the National Labor Relations Act, and provisions won by the Ali Act. He describes them as “the worst [contracts] he’s seen in the sports or entertainment fields.”

Though many in the sport hoped that, after the old owners, the Fertitta brothers, sold the company to WME-IMG for four billion dollars, things would change, unfortunately, as evidenced by the GSP contract fiasco, the new owners have perpetuated the unfair labor practices. Under the new ownership regime, fighters have seen no improvements in their wages and no hope for more favorable contracts. Like so many other people in the labor force, UFC fighters—whether they be big names like GSP or lesser known athletes—face an uphill battle when it comes to getting what they deserve.