Thats the deal right there... a small number of these guys are making REALLY good money. IMO there are more just getting by or losing their rear ends than there are getting rich now days.

A lot of those guys have money from other ventures in life and just want to fish at the top level now.

For some of the younger ones it could be a struggle, but then again we do not know what kind of financial backing or background for each.

"We", the general fishing public, assume every guy that fishes professionally has suffered some grueling journey to get there. For some this may be the case, but I bet it's more of an exception than the rule.

I disagree, I know a lot of guys that haven't had raises in years, very very few free boats compared to pre 2008, and free motors are getting rare as well in comparison. It's a damn tough way to make a living. I sponsor several Elite and one FLW guy, and they are ALL names in the sport. It ain't what it used to be.

Individual anglers may be feeling an impact but overall sponsorship spending in the space is up period. There's more competition for the dollar across BASS, FLW, MLF, Opens, Regional/Local Trails, TV Shows and the legions of Pro Staffers and while that is certainly impacting/diluting things for the true professional, times are as good as they've ever been and there's plenty of endemic and non-endemic money floating around. You just have to know how and where to find it.

I guess all the elites and FLW guys I know are just lying to me, and the ones that quit because of lack of sponsorship dollars just do t have your marketing chops, you should become an agent if you know where all that free money is laying around. Free tackle won't pay your mortgage

I'd bet KVD's number has increased significantly since that article. The KVD lines of products from Strike King and Quantum have both been released since then and I believe both of those are royalty deals.

You didnt know these guys on here are pro's and know it all know so much from a keyboard they probably dont know what a fishing pole looks like.

No, I'm not talking about free tackle and sponsorship certainly isn't free. I'm simply saying that the overall sponsorship spend in our space isn't decreasing. Yes, certain anglers are feeling an impact and losing sponsorship but many of them have been on the other end and seen growth of their partnerships. It's not something I would expect them to advertise to the general public and I think for the most part they all downplay their sponsorships. It's part of it.

There's been a shift in the sport as other properties have come in and created competition, for example Major League Fishing. Additionally, Bassmaster's growth over the last several years has been steady and they've done a great job bringing non-endemics to the space and growing their endemic base. This certainly affects pro anglers as they are competing in a sense with BASS, MLF and FLW for those dollars as well. But that doesn't mean the dollars are going away.

To me the final and more damaging piece of the puzzle for a professional angler is the massive group of mid to lower level sponsored anglers who are also vying for and getting sponsor dollars, discounts and/or giving their rights and branding away for free. It dilutes the value to a brand for the top level guys who have the experience, platforms and truly warrant sponsorship dollars.

I completely agree with your last paragraph