He needs attention. Plain and simple.

Met him on the water yesterday… looked like he was having fun.

Believe me there are some rookies creating plenty of drama.

It's the top level of a sport. It's going to be dog eat dog, it's going to be competitive, it's going to be difficult, and there's going to be drama.
Check out Mercer's show this week, he had Clunn on.

Clunn said the drama is more publicized now due to social media but the current level of "drama" and whining is nowhere near as bad as it's been in the past.

For Milliken I'm not sure why he'd want to fish the Elites either, not due to the drama or "culture". But due to the workload vs. payoff......the payoff just isn't there in any tournament fishing vs. what he was doing/continues to do outside of BASS.

As with just about anything nowadays, all this drama is nothing new. Its always happened, but there were not 1000 camera's around to capture it or social media to make it viral. Anyone with a phone now is "someone" unfortunately. Its not only true with BASS, it is what is true with media in general.

I know things are totally different these days but in the not so distant past every pro anglers dream was to be Bassmaster Classic Champion. That was like an NFL team winning the Super Bowl and put the angler at the very top of the pack. It used to be the ultimate prize and brought the highest respect amongst all anglers. I would think that Millken would like nothing better than to be that person and put that trophy on his resume.

Something else he really didnt get much coverage from BASS. He was one of the ones I wanted to see fish more, but he really wasnt talked about and only had a camara in his boat a few times. I realize they put camaras in the top contenders boats as the tournament goes on, but maybe he felt that because he brought so many of his web fans, he would get more run.

That’s pretty cool.

Subtract 40K in entry fees and another 30K in travel expenses.... Explain to me why anybody would want that? 4 top 10s and a win and Trey McKinney didn't even make 200K and miiken finished what top 1/3rd of the field and basically lost money? They can make more money for their sponsors with actual content not fishing the elites. If you see Miliken come back Id be very surprised. Maybe BASS should focus on actually paying their "pros."

You hit the nail on the head. BASS needs Milliken way more than he needs them. The payout model is broken. He is a smart guy and it doesn't take smart guys long to look at that and figure out it's a waste of time and money. His content creation seemed to drop pretty good especially in middle of season. The Castledine approach is probably the direction he should go. Make a ton of content, sell baits like crazy, sprinkle in a toyota, open, Belt, ttt. He still has his classic invite for the coming year

Economically for the anglers the sport is in a pitiful state. Watching the Clunn podcast on Mercer he said the guys need to just win. Even with consistently high finishes and a win, after income taxes/expenses/retirement savings, it isnt easy financially. And then there’s the matter of sustaining the intensity and desire to go on the road and compete year after year. My hats off to anyone that can make a long term career like that work. Clunn said he just wanted to make a living and wasn’t concerned with getting rich. I can see that but I wonder how many of these guys are even making a meager living fishing the Elites.

Does he want to work and make money for someone else + travel and work on their schedule? How much will this privilege cost him? What's the return on investment?

If he makes that decision, he then has the privilege to work with a bunch of people he wouldn't typically associate with and work for a leadership team in which he can't trust their capabilities or motives. He'll only fish BASS if it strongly benefits his brand.

Note: My point is not to bash BASS. They are my favorite bass tournament organization. My point is it's a terrible deal for the anglers. Miliken said the anglers are 1099 workers. It's much, much worse than that. Most 1099 workers don't invest their own money or have minimal investments and are guaranteed a rate of return.

Good point. The world of social media thrives on drama. What is funny is how serious people whose lives this has no effect on take this stuff. Have fun with it, don't let it get you mad, because it's meaningless unless you're one of the people fishing the drama trails.