More MLF Bass Pro Tour Prize $ Details

I've never seen the Cup prizes explained.

Wired2Fish Link

After the initial announcement of the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour last week, league officials today announced additional details of the tour, including industry-leading media exposure with more than 850 hours of television coverage and 350 hours of live streaming, angler leadership in the series, and payouts of nearly $10 million that have never before been seen in the professional bass fishing industry.

The expanded MLF program welcomes a premier 80-angler group which will be announced in October. These anglers will, for the first time in their careers, have a seat at the table in all league decisions, including payouts, entry fees, event format, schedule and locations. Although the full schedule has not yet been announced, anglers and fans alike will be pleased to see a schedule that does not require anglers to travel or fish on major holidays such as Mother's Day and Memorial Day, a welcome change to the schedule anglers have become accustomed to in fishing other leagues.

"Never in the history of our sport have anglers had this much control over their own destiny, from the bathroom to the boardroom and everywhere in between," said MLF and Pro Bass Tour Anglers' Association (PBTAA) co-founder Boyd Duckett. "These 80 anglers will have the opportunity to set a precedent for our sport for generations to come - a precedent that will likely include lower or no entry fees, higher payouts and better conditions for anglers in every regard."

The new Bass Pro Tour eight-event series and Bass Pro Tour Championship also offer heightened payouts, made possible through enthusiastic support from Bass Pro Shops and Outdoor Sportsman Group (OSG). Regular tour events will pay out more than $700,000 per event, with the championship purse exceeding $1.2 million. Success in tour events also qualifies anglers to high-paying Cup events, which ultimately gives anglers the chance to compete in the General Tire World Championship with CBS airtime. The four Cup events will pay a total of more than $2.2 million and the World Championship will pay more than $700,000 among only 16 participants.

"Our league and sponsor partners have made a significant investment to make sure that the decision to fish with Major League Fishing in 2019 was an easy one for anglers," Jim Wilburn, president and CEO of MLF, said. "With these payout amounts combined with our more than 850 hours of television programming across six networks and support for anglers at every level of the business, we believe our angler-centric business model is one that will resonate with anglers and sponsors."

While MLF will continue its popular Cup events and World Championship, airing on Outdoor Channel, CBS Network and CBS Sports cable, it will now also have the Bass Pro Tour competitions and championship airing as originals on Discovery Channel with re-airs on Sportsman Channel in 2020. All together, Major League Fishing will air more than 850 hours of television programming in addition to the more than 350 hours of live coverage that will be streamed on majorleaguefishing.com

"Nothing can match the amount of media coverage and exposure these 80 anglers will enjoy in the coming years across multiple networks," Wilburn said. "We expect massive growth across the entire industry as a result of these positive changes for all anglers, sponsors and fans.”

MLF tournaments reach a bigger audience than any other tournament of their kind, and television ratings and independent surveys consistently indicate the fast-paced, action-packed format resonates with anglers of all ages.

MLF officials will announce the finalized MLF Bass Pro Tour schedule, format and anglers in the coming weeks.

According to Nielsen ratings, MLF has been Outdoor Channel's top-rated show in first and second quarters for three years in a row. MLF also airs on World Fishing Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Discovery Channel and streaming on MOTV. For current MLF schedules, rules, pros and sponsors, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com

Wow

I can’t wait to see who jumps ship from bass. I wonder some of them will try to fish both, if it’s possible

With payouts like that I could see more making the move. I would like to see the final schedule and see how many events one would be able to for sure fish to make my decision. Percentages to get paid and paid well compared to the other events are higher. It would suck to make the move and not qualify to move on after the first event not having anything to fish the rest of the year.

Don't wanna wish BASS and FLW any harm but don't see how they can compete with that. The future looks bright for those 80 anglers and it's about time.

You're guaranteed 8 events.

In addition, they take the top 30 in points after the first 2 tournaments to fish the first Cup event. The top 30 in points after events 3-4 to fish the second Cup event. Same after events 5-6 for the third cup and 7-8 for the 4th cup.

In all, you have a chance to fish 14 events (8 tour events, 1 tour championship, 4 Cups, 1 World Cup). That's a lot of opportunities for a lot of money up for grab

Shouldn't it pizz off some BASS anglers that they all of a sudden pull $$$ out of their rear to pay out next year just because MLF showed up???

Only the ones that didn’t get invited.

The biggest issue and reason for BASS guys not leaving is because it’s not a 5 fish format. It’s dinkfest. That makes it garbage.

Garbage that pays better then anything else I would say

+1

I wouldn’t care to get paid to play putt putt when I can compete in the PGA

I guess I haven't heard anyone complain about the small fish, publicly. The only arguments that I've seen is that they haven't been invited or don't have enough time in their schedule to make MLF work.

All the money that's on the table now. They'll make it work.

It’s a cheapened competition. Pete Robbins who write for... pretty much everyone... said it will be the end of long runs. Put on a small lure and go down the banks within a mile or two of the ramp. There is so much more skill in having to find the right 5 bites. As an aspiring pro, I wouldn’t even consider shooting for that trail. It would be like Dak going to play flag football

Canadian Football League.

The MLF reminds me of the guys ......AT EVERY LOCAL TOURNEY.....that moan and groan about how they can catch 50 lbs of fish, but only weighing in one. Then proceed to talk about how if it was MLF they'd win.

It takes way more skill to catch the right five. MLF and BPL is gonna be a made for tv circus.

95% of those guys probably dont give 2 sheets about the size of the fish. They care about making a living. MLF is going to give 80 guys that ability to make more money than BASS has ever came close to. From winnings to air time that will promote sponsors. And the sponsors are what pays the bills.


And believe me I agree with the 5 fish idea. I personally cant stand the MLF format. It's not tournament fishing to me. But for the aspect of those guys making a living they will do it. Quickly.

Well don’t mention the cowboys they suck but money is money...

the Cowboys are the first sport franchise, OF ANY SPORT, to have their franchised valued at over $5,000,000,000!!!!

Coyaintnogoldfish are you ever positive about anything. I don't seem to recall you saying anything positive. I hope your personal life is better then your attitude on here.This is what the anglers wanted. That was one of the things that MLF did. They let the anglers have a say. So if I'm reading your words correctly you have no insight on how to run a business. A pro fisherman is running a business. That's his lively hood. It puts bread on the table. Do you think he really cares if its 5 fish or a so called dinkfest. He's going to fish the trail that takes care of him and his family. And did you read what the FLW anglers said about FLW'S comments on what BASS and MLF are doing. They aren't very happy. Bottom line. They are paying more and fishing for less. So you go on to FLW, go get those 5 biggest fish. Hell puff your chest out. Then go to the bank and look at that negative in your business account. These Pros are Pros for a reason. They are the best of the best. They are not fishing for you and I. And in spite of others comments about a dinkfest. That dinkfest is Outdoor Channels # 1 show. I really wish more would be happy for the pros. Instead of ragging on what MLF is doing.

Hey looks like a good opportunity but I don't see how they r gonna be around very long paying out that kinda $

Spot on, Rangerkev.

I think the money guy is Stan Kroenke. He own Kroenke Sports and Entertainment. KSE is the parent company to The Sportsmans Channel, Outdoor Channel, World Fishing Network. They also own BassFan.

His net worth is $8.5 billion. He's married to Ann Walton Kroenke (Walmart Walton's) who's net worth is $6.5 billion.

There is some serious money involved

If you think the BASS and FLW guys were not happy so as a whole they made MLF, that’s incorrect. For a handful of guys, that’s the case. And honestly, there was a lot of momentum towards MLF until BASS responded. I was even excited to hear about this new trail. There is nothing wrong with competition. But, any businessman could see that many of the steps, announcements, press releases, etc were done vey poorly and not in a way that helps grow the meat of the sport. It was a personal attack on BASS 100%. The fringe guys who don’t care as much about the competition or know the franchises intimately aren’t going to see it like those of us in the middle of it do and that’s ok. It’s probably better that way. But to intentionally try to cripple the guys that made the sport what it is doesn’t sit well with me and frankly really chaffs me. That doesn’t make me negative about everything in life, but it sure does frustrate me when it comes to the sport that I’m very passionate about.

I bet you hate Amazon, Netflix, Uber, Tackle Warehouse and the 100’s of other companies that have disrupted our traditional and comfortable ways of doing things. I bet you the old execs of Blockbuster are probably sitting around a what a burger table on this rainy Saturday morning saying “damn we were stupid”.

“Complacency will be the architecture of your downfalll”
- Jeremy Gutsche

Thank you Monty Wright for your detailed informational posts on MLF's new programs.

See that is where you are wrong. It’s not garbage based on higher ratings than bass gets on ESPN. And the bass guys are going to leave in droves. How many people are going to tune in to watch a bunch of no names we have never heard of compete for their own money when all the heavy hitters of the sport moved over to MLF.

Maybe Bass should have payed it forward to some more of their anglers who make the sport instead of greedily getting as rich as possible. The anglers fish for their own money while the owners prosper. This is not how you run a pro organization. Hell, they haven’t had a single payout increase since the inception of the elites. Inflation alone has reduced their payouts compared to expenses by 30% or more. The classic payout has even went down. Other pro leagues have a players union and get paid to show up. The best of the best in fishing should be no different. The industry generates billions each year and the money is there to be had.

Alright, so I’ve gotten some sleep and re-read everything with fresh eyes. Let me start by taking this back... it’s not garbage. That was a strong word. People like it. It’s not how I would prefer to compete. If it were a 5 fish, heaviest string CWR, I think it would be better personally. I’m actually shocked there aren’t more guys who feel the same way on here.

Also, I certainly don’t hate market disrupters as I stated in my last post. I don’t like they way Duckett went about it. If you don’t know the back story, I’ll let you enjoy life without know it. Ignorance is bliss.


Here are the POSITIVES:

It has definitely HELPED improve payouts for BASS and MLF guys, and my guess is that FLW will have to respond even though they have taken a seat so far.

It has provided competition and diversity in the market and they will continue to drive each other towards better programs.

It’s a much needed boost to the lifeblood of the sport. It has become stagnant in the last 3-5 years and needed a change. Just unfortunate it was a reaction by BASS and not then being proactive.

MLF will reach a broader target audience than BASS did, which in turn will bring in hopefully millions of people who didn’t watch the sport or even know it existed. Who knows, in a decade or so, we might see it trend similar to the way golf did and have massive payouts and no entries.

It’ll give a way for more grass roots guys a path into top tier competition. My guess is that they will all have 100 member fields at some point. 350 spots for pros is solid compared to 280.



I do see the benefits to it and I know there will be growing pains before it gets better. It could have all been handled way better by the execs in my opinion. That’s my biggest beef.

I’ve also spent the last decade trying to learn how to catch big fish. And it’s a million times more rewarding for me to catch an 8lber than to catch 4 2lbers. It’s a lot more of a mental and physical grind and I love that about the sport. I look up to the guys who can put their pants on after 6 days of practice and competition and go catch 25lbs again. To me, regardless of the payouts or the franchise title, that is bass fishing competition in its truest form.

Completely agree!

Coy, you need to get more rest. Comments like that are much easier to decifer.

It was inevitable for something like this to happen when payouts went down and even after the economy recovered they stayed the same.

Inflation must be adjusted for.....

Duly noted.

MLF is the most watchable format in televised fishing tournaments. That's all that counts for them. Sure there are adamant fans that want to see the old format and that's fine. But this is and always will be about money.MLF has the potential to be the biggest money make EVER in the history of bass tournaments. MLF has already proved that it is going to be a big success. That will be good for everyone and good for the sport. I want to see some pros have a great ay on the water but I also want to see some struggle just like we all do at times. MLF lets you see it all.... the good, the bad, and the ugly.

He isn't a donator. He will expect return on his money. When you get in business with the big money guys they play for keeps. Usually through a bunch of lawyers. It should be interesting how all this turns out in terms of revenue vs prize purse.

Just check out how he handled the purchase of the Waggoner Ranch. He threw out those who had one year leases that under the prior owning family would have been renewed every year.

It will also be very interesting to see who the 80 are and who they aren't. That should crank up the drama even higher. I can't imagine someone getting a invite and not taking it. Too much exposure for their sponsors in addition to the higher purse.

^^ you got that right guy like that are not in it to lose $ . I get it the tv stuff will bring in money but who really watches bass fishing on tv besides all of us the audience really ain't that big folks

He also owns the Rams, Nuggets and Avalanche. Dude is big time.

In other Pro sports the players get drafted and signed to contracts and get paid to play. The fans pay to watch either live or via TV and the owners get the revenue to pay the players. The players don't have to pay to enter the game.

I don't think you'll ever get enough revenue from the fans in a live fishing scenario and most of the income will be coming from TV exposure and sponsorship exposure. So in essence by inviting participants they have a pseudo draft which the invitee can accept or not. The players have less up front expense with no entry fees and with a fixed 80, less competition.

It would take deep pockets to pull this off until it either succeeds or fails.

Maybe it will evolve into an actual league where Money Men/Women can hire x no. of Pros for their team and compete for individual and team championships.

The format hasn't been formally announced yet, but I believe the 8 event BPT will still be a best 5 fish style tournament with a regular schedule.. they will just weigh in the boat and bring one toad to the actual weigh in stage. The BPT Championship will be the new "Classic", also biggest 5 fish style. Anglers will then qualify for the actual MLF Format through their rankings on the BPT tour and fish for the most over 12" they can catch for the MLF Cup.

I guess I may be confused with some of the MLF events I have watched. I didn't necessarily consider them a dink fest. I have seen many times where a quality big fish would make a huge difference since it was the actual weight that mattered. One of my favorite shows was when the Hack Attack was pulling in quality fish after quality fish and ran away with a victory because of the quality fish he was catching and not just a bunch of dinks.

Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure there was a press release that said it was not going to be 5 biggest.

I remember reading that as well.

From the original post...

"The expanded MLF program welcomes a premier 80-angler group which will be announced in October. These anglers will, for the first time in their careers, have a seat at the table in all league decisions, including payouts, entry fees, event format, schedule and locations."

I havent seen anything to indicate that the 8 Bass pro Tour Events will be the MLF rules... I have read a release that the MLF Cup and World Championships will still be the same deal.. anglers dont know where they are going and its all fish over 12". The BPT portion should be 8 Scheduled tournaments with practice days and all, normal tournament format other than fish will be weighed in the boat by a marshal. Just like Texas Fest is my understanding. We'll see in a few weeks when they formally announce the who what when and where, but I really think those fired up thinking pro fishing is changing to a who can catch the most over 12" are jumping the gun.

http://www.bassfan.com/opinion_article.asp?ID=1520#.W6ocl8tOlxc

Stan Kroenke also owns the LA Rams and is building the new stadium in Los Angeles. The man makes money, married money and I think carps money...

A Duckett wrote a push piece for the Duckett family.

And the Nuggets and Avalanche.

You have to understand its all about TV guys. Where was the NFL before TV? These pros get paid by advertisers to get their jerseys shown on TV and talk about how they caught all their fish using the bait their sponsor makes. The more time they are seen on TV the more money they make. With BASS and FLW their TV is very limited. MLF is actually a fishing infomercial. Its a veritable gold mine for sponsors. Johnny Morris recognized it right off and jumped in both feet! Its stock car racings format with sponsors plastered all over the place! Its pure freaking genius!

The reasons I, and my wife (she loves to fish, but mlf is the ONLY fishing show she will watch) like to watch MLF are:

-- they don't get to pre-fish (like us when we fish in a tourney, we NEVER get to pre-fish, because we both work), i think it takes MUCH more talent to win a mlf event than it does a regular tour event because of this

-- since you know the size of fish all others are catching, you know if you have to go for #'s or size, or both...some of y'all are saying its a dinkfest, but many times it the angler with the highest per fish avg that wins...hack, poche, etc... what takes more skill, to fish for a few days, find 2 or 3 spots to catch 5-7 fish on, or having no clue where you are fishing, breaking down the lake in a 15 ride around, and then fish??

-- i like that the events are broken into 3 or 4 groups, and you have to finish top 3 or 4 to move on...it lets you see what each angler is doing, how they are doing it, and if their decisions were the correct ones; and, to be honest, I like to see some of the best sticks struggle, like I do at times, when the fish aren't where we think they should be, and then watching how they fix the problem

My opinion...I love the MLF format because I am bored to tears with the TV presentations of "video fishing." Watching a guy sit in open water dropping his cricket under the boat isn't compelling theater to me. I am not saying I wouldn't like to be standing beside him helping. I am saying I don't care to watch it. To me MLF did not cheapen the competition, it re-created the competitive balance. There is now a price to pay for the time you spend graphing; looking for the motherlode. For while you idle, Earl is hammering two-pounders.

I'm assuming this is sarcasm?

MLF and PBT are two different formats. The PBT will be an announced lake with practice period just like the Elite tournaments are. MLF is show up and fish.

Just curious, what is PBT?

Pro Bowlers Tour