5 contract provisions UFC fighters can expect after antitrust settlement deal gets approved by court
The UFC antitrust lawsuit had been underway since former UFC middleweight Cung Le filed the lawsuit against the organization in 2014 and other fighters like Nate Quarry and Jon Fitch joined in. The plaintiffs accused the UFC of anti-competitive practices that adversely affected fighters' careers. In March 2024, the UFC and the fighters reportedly reached a settlement.
The world's premier MMA organization agreed to pay a total of $335 million to the fighters, closing two antitrust lawsuits. The settlement's been signed but is pending the court's approval. Per MMA Fighting, the UFC and the fighters have indeed agreed to a settlement in the case, and the court filings of the complete settlement agreement have been done.
The agreement's terms indicate that after a three-day period following the settlement's preliminary approval by the court, the MMA organization would deposit $100 million in an interest-bearing escrow account.
Additionally, three days after the court's final approval or Nov. 1, 2024 (whichever comes later), the UFC would have to deposit another $100 million into the account. The third and final payment, which would be $135 million, is to be made no later than April 1, 2025. Concerning the release of his claims, one of the original plaintiffs, Nate Quarry, will receive a one-time payment of $250k.
Moreover, the case's total settlement sum will be deposited into the UFC Settlement Fund, which will release amounts to the fighters, who are listed as qualified for the payments. Presently, though objections could be filed, the consensus is that the court would approve the settlement agreement in a final hearing.
Furthermore, the settlement has also ensured that a few existing contract provisions in the UFC, initially added to the promotional contracts in 2019, will be extended for another five-year period. Today, we take a brief look at those terms.
#5 UFC fighter's contract extension or renewal
A notable term suggested the existence of an exclusive negotiating period between a fighter and the UFC that lasts for 30 days, during which a contract's extension/renewal can be decided. If the fighter doesn't extend/renew their contract within the 30-day period, not reaching an agreement with the UFC, they can then negotiate with other organizations.
Nevertheless, the fighter's negotiations with other organizations would be affected by the UFC's ability to match the other organization's offer, provided the UFC chooses to do so.
#4 UFC matching period for contract offers
The UFC's right to match the contract offers a fighter receives from other organization(s) is limited by a matching rights period of four months. During that four-month period, the UFC can match the financial and other benefits entailed in outside offers a fighter receives.
Moreover, during that timeframe, the fighter isn't permitted to enter into an agreement with another organization if the UFC matches their offer.
#3 UFC's right to extend a fighter's contract
The UFC reserves the right to extend a fighter's contract if the said fighter is unable to fight or unreasonably refrains from competing when offered a matchup. The organization has the authority to extend the fighter's contract by up to six months or for the requisite amount of time until a new opponent and date is finalized (whichever development comes later).
In this context, a new opponent implies an opponent different from the one the fighter was offered and refused to compete against.
#2 Contract freezing and automatic termination
The UFC can freeze a fighter's contract if the said fighter retires. This contract freezing can be done for a maximum period of four years. Alternatively, the UFC could release the fighter from their contract during the period. Regardless, when a retired fighter's contract completes the four-year mark, the contract is deemed finished via automatic termination.
#1 UFC's fighter likeness rights
A notable provision, comprised in the UFC contracts since 2019 and now extended for another five years courtesy of the antitrust lawsuit's fallout, is the UFC's rights over a fighter's likeness. Fighters would enjoy a greater degree of freedom in regard to their likeness and name rights, while the UFC possesses nonexclusive worldwide rights to their name and likeness.