How much could UFC fighters get paid in new $375 million wage settlement?

Endeavor group

08/10/2024 20:13

By Mike Scarcella
       Oct 8 (Reuters) - More than 1,000 former Ultimate
Fighting Championship martial arts fighters could each receive
payouts ranging from $15,000 to more than $1 million in a newly
proposed $375 million class action settlement resolving claims
that their bout wages were suppressed.
    
    WHY IT MATTERS
    UFC parent TKO Group Holdings  TKO.N , part of Endeavor
Group  EDR.N , was accused in the decade-old Nevada lawsuit of
artificially suppressing how much fighters were paid. The
proposed settlement, submitted to the court on Monday, would
rank among the largest-ever of its type under U.S. antitrust
law.
    
    KEY QUOTE
    “This would truly be life-changing money for me and for
other members of the class,” said Matt Brown, who participated
in 15 UFC bouts during the class period from 2010 to 2017. Brown
was among dozens of fighters who signed declarations backing the
new accord.
    
    THE BACKGROUND
    The proposed settlement marks the second time the
plaintiffs' lawyers at Berger Montague, Cohen Milstein Sellers &
Toll and Joseph Saveri Law Firm have presented a deal to U.S.
District Judge Richard Boulware II in Las Vegas for approval.
    Boulware rejected an earlier $335 million proposal that
would have resolved two related UFC lawsuits. The court said the
amount that was dedicated to the fighters was too small.
    
    BY THE NUMBERS
    Class members would receive about $250,000 on average as
part of the settlement, court papers showed. Some 35 class
members stand to recover more than $1 million. The settlement
said nearly 800 fighters would receive more than $50,000.
    
    THE RESPONSE 
    UFC has denied any wrongdoing. It said it was “in the best
interest of all parties to bring this litigation to a close.”
    
    WHAT’S NEXT
    The deal requires court approval, and it does not resolve a
parallel lawsuit from current UFC fighters claiming they are
owed more compensation. UFC could face additional damages in
that lawsuit. The UFC’s bid to dismiss that case is pending.
    

 (Reporting by Mike Scarcella)
 ((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))