Did you watch Swindles Facebook Live post the other day?

I wonder if B.A.S.S. paid Swindle and Palaniuk their $50,000 BPT break-up fees?

In my opinion this cant be 'brushed off' as just normal turnover.. these are 2 of the top names in the sport, who are paying to leave (or had their fee paid).. Regardless, it is a big deal.. But to me the bigger deal is the reaction - go read the comments on social media.. it has be 90/10, at least, in favor of BASS and bashing MLF.. sponsors have to see that.. I know MLF has plans to 'grow the sport' and i hope that they do, but the sponsors need return on their investment.. and their customers (they ones currently buying product, not potential customers) seem to be overwhelming 'pro-BASS'

The golden rule is to treat others and talk to others as you wish to be treated
When that rule is violated; whether it be out of exuberance, greed, or over confidence, people notice

I'm a fan either way and will watch Thrift, Dudley, Brandon, and G wherever they go.

From an educational standpoint, I learn more from BASS Live than MLF. I enjoy both but raw footage of guys making decisions and articulating is more helpful. I watch fishing so I can be more effective as an angler. MLF places their emphasis on the score tracker and fish catches which has its own value. Hackney for example on BASS Live isn't the same Hackney in MLF. There are a lot of gems in the coverage of his win on Texoma during BASSFest.

I almost wish MLF would blend practice with tournament fishing and show both. I think there'd be value to it and you'd get more big fish catches. The fish catches in MLF now are happenstance and not an angler refining a pattern through practice.

Toyota for one.

I can't figure out why so many on here get so excited/fired up/angry about these guys or any others making decision for their own careers, personal lives, etc, etc. These guys obviously wanted a change and the reasons are irrelevant to me because its their lives, not mine. I'm sure both organizations will be just fine in the short term and only time will tell how this all ends up working out.

I like watching both formats but do agree with some other's opinions that I hope MLF puts together a schedule where it rewards targeting larger fish or just schedules lakes that have larger fish in general which they seem to have done for next year.

I just did and my honest reaction... I think he was drunk.

Swindle just said on BTL that it cost him $50,000 to get out of his contract with MLF...

I agree 100% Chris!

Just like the people on here that get mad when someone else buys something expensive, like a boat or tackle. They like to give "advice" on major purchases in other people's lives.

It's your money do with what you see fit.

They must be getting paid a ton of TV money to fish BPT. Not only are some guys making $0 fishing their tournaments but it cost you 50k to drop out. Only a fool would sign that contract.

As Swindle pointed out in the interview, they didn't have exactly a whole lot of time to make the decision, 2 weeks as I recall. In addition to making an enormous life decision, this time would include reviewing the contract. It would also include talking to other anglers, which was done a bunch and Swindle mentioned there being a lot of peer pressure in the process. I always thought (along with others that put their opinions on YouTube) that the short runway given to the anglers on making this huge decision was a little suspect.

While I think that while everyone will give lip service to reading the fine print in contracts, I doubt it's really done that much; for example, who really reads all of the paperwork in their mortgage?

There were a bunch of fools. Many regarded as the greatest anglers ever. There is always a price to break a contract. Breaking it down to simple form he is out about half of that. Had he stayed at BASS entry fees would have been like 40k. They are guaranteed to make 20k or so. Did he actually have to pay out of pocket or did his sponsors pick up that buyout? However it went down it was worth it to him and Palaniuk too.

Swindle wouldn't have had any entry fees for the 2019 season. If you had previously been in the Elite series, you got another kickback, and then with the guaranteed payouts all the way down to last place, if you got last place in every tournament, you'd still be up $500 on the season.

.after a year, only two pros left the to go back to B.A.S.S. and their places were immediately taken by two of the biggest names from FLW....the fact that 97.5% of the MLF pros did not leave ought to tell you something...
after 40 years,BASS was only able to secure 35-40 hours per year of TV coverage for their anglers and with their format only the top 3-4 anglers ever got any exposure....and exposure is what an anglers sponsors pay them for.....
MLF was already ranked as #1 outdoor show and this year the MLF anglers will receive 850 hours of TV coverage and with the MLF format,almost every angler and their sponsors get TV exposure....if you are trying to make a living as a professional fisherman and trying gain exposure for your sponsors,it's a "no-brainer" as to which tour offers you the best chance for exposure....and why 80 of the top pros from both BASS and FLW left to join MLF....
has anybody watched the recent 2 hour shows on Discovery channel.....it not only features ads for industry sponsors but ads for many non endemic companies...and that is why their fishermen are no longer "fishing for the own entry fees"....
with the huge growth in high school and college bass fishing teams,the bass fishing audience is surely going to have huge increases over the next few years.....