He broke with a regular Cuetec shaft at one point from what I remember. But his playing shafts were custom made. Made to look like Cuetec. Decals are simple to replicate. Some people claimed they were sanded down. They were customs. Sanding down the fiberglass would destroy the shaft. And at best would just expose the garbage lumber they used underneath.
Players have done this for ages. Back in the day when Meucci had sponsored nearly every pro on the tour, there was significant variations in shafts from player to player. Call it customizing, or whatever - many of them did not play with stock, off the shelf, standard design Meucci shafts. To the point where you can't really call it a Meucci anymore. Lot of these players were used to more classic tapers and stiffer hitting cues. Cues made by some great cue makers. But they'll always play with whatever pays the bills, at least in appearance.
In the early 2000's I remember seeing several players, sponsored by various cue companies (not Predator) using Predator shafts. But these had the 314 removed (or they were partials). If you get close enough, you can see the pie lamination near the joint, also the ferrule length and taper is noticeably different if you have an eye for detail.
I can't say for certain if Earl never ever played with a fiberglass Cuetec shaft, but I never saw it in all those years he was sponsored and if I had to bet, I'd say he didn't unless it was at a Cuetec exhibition.
I heard some pros talking about this once at a tournament. From what I gathered, their sponsors didn't give a crap what shaft they played with so long as it did not have any kind of branding on it or anything that identifies it as another brand. All that mattered was that they played with a highly visible, off the shelf, main-line cue butt from that maker. Usually the flagship or most expensive model in a series.
Also, in most cases - these sponsorship are not that aggressively enforced. It's not like a major sports athlete who could violate a serious contractual agreement costing millions. Some of these guys get nothing more than some tournament entries paid for and some cues to sell in exchange for wearing a logo patch of that maker and using their cue.
The Cuetec sponsorship on the other hand, was the biggest one in pool. Not sure if anyone is paying more, but that was the one to get.
