Nobody talking about duckett saying that there will be entry fees next year.

Any bets on a few more anglers leaving for the elites?

Maybe a couple leave. I think that will be normal to see a few leave each year and others fill in the vacancy.

Only issue with “leaving for the Elites” is that most won’t qualify under the Legend Exemption, and there’s not an infinite amount of spaces under that exemption. This would mean, if they leave BPT, they will have to qualify through the Opens again. They can’t just say, “I’m going back to the Elites.”

I am sure quite a few would be willing to take their chances in the opens, but that could potentially be a pretty big financial decision.

where's big O lol

Yes I was referring to the ones that could get in through legend status.

Not many of those guys could get back in through the opens while staying on tour with bpt. A. Ducket keeps the schedule so that they cannot. B. It's dang tough.

Found an article showing the anglers eligible for the exemption by points. There’s only 2 spots each season for Legends Exemption, but I could see some of these guys jumping ship. I don’t know if the amount was ever disclosed, but Palaniuk and Swindle had to pay a fine for terminating their contract.

Kevin VanDam 11 points
Mark Davis 4 points
Aaron Martens 3 points
Gary Klein, Michael Iaconelli, Skeet Reese, Jordan Lee 2 points
Justin Lucas, Greg Hackney, Brent Chapman, Tim Horton, Ott DeFoe, Edwin Evers, Casey Ashley, Randy Howell, Cliff Pace, Chris Lane, Alton Jones, Boyd Duckett, Takahiro Omori, Luke Clausen, Paul Elias 1 point

Guess nothing is free in this world.

You can’t make any money fishing the opens either. That’s another problem for guys jumping over.

I can see that.

But I thought they were tired of fishing for each other’s $ ...lol

Is this a temporary result of the season being mostly cancelled due to Covid?

It's a result of reality. Which is why Bass and flw have entry fees.

So, no entry was a bill of goods to get everyone locked into a deal they can't easily break from before charging them to play just like all the other trails? Or are they mitigating unexpected financial troubles? I would totally understand the later, but I suspect the former at least to some extent.

*Update* Found the article; I think their emphasis on the importance of payouts drawing attention from casual fans is misguided. Seems to me that golf's relatively recent boom in popularity wasn't from big payouts, it was mostly from a compelling story and character to follow (Tiger). Feel like fishing is going to require a similar personality/storyline-based approach to appeal and relate more to the casual viewer.

Read the article. It's our fault.

but i thought that was why they all jumped ship to fish with somebody elses money too much stuff is being blamed on covid .