Someone Should Sponser MIKE DAVIS!!!
- Thread starter pookster
- Start date
I don't know if he is looking for a backer, but I concur !!!!!
Russ....
Russ....
pookster said:
Which top pros would that be?
pookster said:
I'd like to elaborate on the point that I believe CrownCityCorey appears to be making.CrownCityCorey said:
Since the growth of billiard forums, I've come to notice something over the years, and that is that there seems to be a large misconception that all the top pros have full sponsorship, meaning a "free ride" for tournaments. Sadly, the misconception is simply that - a misconception.
edit to say that as I started explaining things, I became very long winded & ultimately no one would read it so here is the "cliff notes" version.
Pro players I'm aware of that are sponsored or appear to be sponsored as most perceive sponsorship to be:
Johnny Archer (had multiple sponsors, every players dream and is now down to one or two the last I heard)
Alison Fisher
Ralf Souquet (I was recently told that one of his biggest sponsors cut back dramatically on their amount of sponsorship from what could be perceived as full to hardly partial)
Mika has a long standing relationship with Mezz but I've no idea to what extent that sponsorship goes to.
I'm sure I've missed one or two but not by much. Four people are hardly "all the top pros". People see a lot of players wearing patches, or having "this company" or "that company" listed as a sponsor when their match is announced at a tournament. Generally speaking, these are one time sponsorships or very limited sponsorships.
The limited sponsorships mostly lean towards what is called "product sponsorship". The company agrees to give the player something liked $500 to $2000 worth of product per yr. The player then sells the item and keeps the money to put towards their tournament expenses. Some companies agree to pay a players entry fee for particular tournaments or a certain number of tournaments.
One time sponsorships where a player might wear a company's patch could be anything from a small monetary gift for being a human advertisement to that company paying the entry fee for that one tournament.
I know one player who was ranked between 1 & 4 for two yrs and while his list of "sponsorship" sounded impressive during match announcements, not a single one of them gave him a penny of cash money for entry's or expenses. All of them gave him a little bit of product for him to sell. There's certainly nothing wrong with it and it's definitely better than nothing, but if he couldn't sell the product before the next event, all expenses were out of his pocket. This is a far, far cry from what a lot of people thought he was getting.
I don't know if it's the patches players wear, or just that people assume the pros are sponsored (as they should be), but whatever it is, many, many people have a gross misconception about pro players and their sponsorship (or lack thereof).
To get back on topic, I absolutely agree that Mike deserves a good sponsorship. Some players are great pool players but their social skills are either lacking or their too cocky to be bothered by those that aren't pro players. Mr. Davis is polite to any and all that approach him. If someone asks him how to shoot a particular shot, he'll show them or explain it. He makes time for anyone that asks it of him. If I were a business owner, he is exactly the type of person I would want as a spokesperson for my business.
The other two players that I can think of are Jeanette Lee and Jennifer Baretta. Jeanette had the savvy to start marketing herself before she reached the top. She made it a point to stand out by wearing all black and was known for that. By the time she did reach the top of the playing field, people were already familiar with her. Once at the top, she capitalized on her top player status and went after more sponsors. Jeanette did what people call "pounding the pavement". She went looking for sponsorship instead of waiting for it to come to her.
She made herself a stand out with the all black attire, acquired the "Black widow" nickname and therefor made herself marketable for prospective sponsors. They didn't have to create an image for their spokesperson, it was already created. It was a win win for both parties. Jeanette continues to work tirelessly at marketing herself. Like her or not, she must be given props for a marketing job well done. All I've seen on tv for the last 7 (plus) yrs is Alison and Karen but to this day, when I mention that I play pool, I'm inevitably asked if I know "The Black Widow".
Jennifer didn't get as high on the pool charts as Jeanette did pre Alison-Karen, but her good skills, though not top tier, coupled with her good looks, great physique, composure, & past experience in the limelight with other activities outside of pool made her an excellent, marketable spokesperson.
Acquiring sponsorship on something outside of stellar play is easier for a woman because in general they're more marketable, especially in sports which is a male dominant field. Sex sells and for the men, that's just a sad fact of life.
She made herself a stand out with the all black attire, acquired the "Black widow" nickname and therefor made herself marketable for prospective sponsors. They didn't have to create an image for their spokesperson, it was already created. It was a win win for both parties. Jeanette continues to work tirelessly at marketing herself. Like her or not, she must be given props for a marketing job well done. All I've seen on tv for the last 7 (plus) yrs is Alison and Karen but to this day, when I mention that I play pool, I'm inevitably asked if I know "The Black Widow".
Jennifer didn't get as high on the pool charts as Jeanette did pre Alison-Karen, but her good skills, though not top tier, coupled with her good looks, great physique, composure, & past experience in the limelight with other activities outside of pool made her an excellent, marketable spokesperson.
Acquiring sponsorship on something outside of stellar play is easier for a woman because in general they're more marketable, especially in sports which is a male dominant field. Sex sells and for the men, that's just a sad fact of life.
Ultimately, that depends on what the contract between both parties stipulates so only the individuals involved & those they've shared that info with know for sure. In all the years that I've been involved with pool (well over 20) I can honestly say that I've never heard of a player having to give monies won back to a corporate sponsor.tigerseye said:
The sponsor is paying the player to work. The players job is to represent themselves well and finish as high as they possibly can in the tournament. If a player has a tv match, or wins the tournament, everyone watching is going to see that company name. The company is paying the player to advertise and if the player wears their patch, and represents the company as they're asked to do, then they've done their job and anything the player makes is theirs. Kind of like an incentive bonus. The player wins that "bonus money" but the company will win customers. In a perfect world, the customers will want to buy the product that the winner just used, in hopes of bettering their own game and ultimately, the company will make more money than they spent on the sponsorship.
If Cuetec pays Alison's $500 entry fee, and say a $1000 for travel expenses and she wins, the company already comes out ahead. All through the matches the announcers are going to mention that she's sponsored by Cuetec and everyone is going to see her Cuetec patch. It would cost Cuetec thousands more to buy a 20 or 40 second commercial. They save advertising dollars and ultimately have their company name mentioned & seen on her shirt through the whole episode instead of just one or two commercials. Not only have they saved thousands in advertising dollars but they've also garnered new customers who, as a collective group, will spend thousands.
Corporate sponsors (which is what every player wants) is very different than a backer. Every player that has a steady backer or has random backers at random times, is set up much differently and the terms of the agreement are as wide ranging as the grand canyon. Some backers will post up all the costs and if the player finishes in the money, the backer get a percentage of those winnings. Some backers will "split" the entry & travel costs, with the backer generally paying more than the player for these expenses and ultimately getting a larger percentage of the winnings than the player keeps. I've heard 100's of different "backer agreements" and all of those entail getting a percentage of whatever winnings the player makes.