Companies love to see their logos on TV . IMHO, only when more television coverage is available, then more companies will be willing to sponsor more players. Companies love to see their logos on TV. .
Some readers may take offence at the word "S.........". The existence of independent players and clubs will weaken the roles of both the national association and the sponsor. Just imagine how Yonex is going to negotiate with so many independent Indonesian players and PBSI. As far as Yonex is concerned, it will allocate a fixed amount of funds, say $xxx, to Indonesia. This amount $xxx used to go to PBSI alone, but now with independent players it is going to be diluted. How is Yonex going to monitor that it is getting its money's worth?
i dont think so. Ur mind seem to be stuck with yonex. More players and clubs mean more flexibility for more sponsors to come in. Ex, a cig and/or liquor company can now target TH for sponsorship without paying ransom to pbsi. Now, a non cig company can sponsor pbsi since TH, the party boy, smoker, is out.
How is Yonex going to monitor that it is getting its money's worth? . Isn't it that's the way Yonex and/or any other companies make contracts with professional Tennis players? I don't think that now with independent players, sponsorship monies are going to be diluted . .
You seem to be worried more for Yonex than for the players A sponsorship deal is no act of charity or altruism. It's a commercial transaction where benefit is everyone's goal. Companies like Yonex prefer lumping of players (under National Associations, Clubs, et al) as that means fewer negotiators and smaller payouts However, if sponsorship processes in badminton were as they are today in football, tennis, cricket and basketball, it would certainly benefit the players. One also cannot discount the possibility that such a route could take the level of competition up to positive heights never reached yet in badminton. --------------------- Well, Shylock has been known to the world for over 400 years now. I'd say it's a bit late in the day to suddenly sit up and be offended
Time will tell if independents will be good for the game. So far it doesn't seem to be doing well in Malaysia. Also we have a real financial crisis now and sponsors, especially sponsors with high-end and expensive product range, will be badly hurt. I only hope the so-called independents do not end up in "retirement home" for players who are reaching their sunset years.
Yonex Well... yes, welcome to the real world, Yonex... The practice is quite normal in the football [soccer] world etc... Note: Yonex seems to be loosing out in many negotiations with Associations... Team China will use Li Ning products Team Korea will use Victor products Team Indonesia already said the contract with Yonex will only be extended to the end of 2009... In 2010... maybe going individual? Team Malaysia... maybe negotiating for this year [2009]... going individual maybe?
Err....Yonex is not the only company producing badminton rackets and equipments There are so many other individual sponsors like Victor, Li Ning, Head, Sotex, Wilson, and even Astec and Pertamina (of Indonesia) who are willing to dish out sponsorship deals to individual players. Not to mention those who have shown their support throughout the years like Proton, Fed-Ex, Djarum, Aviva, and so on. No doubt, the current financial crisis will make them less inclined, but, as history showed us, crisis will come and go. So, once this crisis is over in 1-2 years time, the era of professionalism in badminton will hopefully take off!
Badminton is very different from say tennis or basketball. The ATP and NBA have a huge locked-in revenue stream from television. These revenues are so large that they can afford to pay top prize money. Badminton as we know it today gets money from mainly Yonex, and most of it goes to the national associations. Even then this money is peanuts. We now have badminton independents that want to take a bite of the cherry of this peanuts pool of money. Indonesia has been very strong in badminton for a long time. But it was somewhat weakened by the Asian financial crisis a decade ago. We now have another even worse financial crisis which I am afraid will be detrimental to Indonesia. I hope I am wrong but I have an uneasy feeling that the independents and the PBSI in Indonesia are fighting for a dwindling pool of reduced funds. Malaysia is luckier as they now have a government who can provide more funds to the BAM. Even China, probably the only country whose players can command higher income from individual sponsoring, will not allow their national stars to be independent.
Yao Ming is earning much more than Lin Dan? . Hope that China Badminton Association can follow their Basketball Association. I would guess that Yao Ming is earning much more than Lin Dan. .
I think I personally believe that the opening up of badminton sponsorships (thus ending the monopoly by Yonex) will boost Indonesia's future in badminton and not detrimental to Indonesia. Indonesia will be stuck in the mud if it chooses to still stick to Yonex and their "unreasonable" rules. Dwindling pool of fun In contrast, we can see that the pool of funds is now being widened (and not reduced BTW) with the inclusion of Amway and perhaps Pertamina as possible sponsors of the National Team. And some players like Alvent Yulianto/Hendra A. Gunawan chose to be independent as they have also managed to secure sponsorships (which I believe is not from Yonex) that allow them to compete internationally and hopefully pave ways for their future as coaches. It's an open market and Yonex is now beginning to lose out as they have lost their monopoly of the national associations (with 2 gone already) their rivals (Li Ning and Victor).
U, I'm yet to see a sport in which the players' lot has improved because they remained hogtied to a national association. Look at (field) hockey - that's a sport in which national associations run by fatcats have put paid to any hope of progress. Conversely, I'm yet to see a sport in which the players' lot hasn't improved because they turned 'professional' and went about their own careers with an international body overseeing just the calendar, the rules and the rankings. Look at golf, tennis, (the real) football, basketball, chess, and what have you. Sure, the ATP and the NBA are drowning in TV money. But do these bodies handle the players' careers? They don't. They manage the game and not the players' incomes. And that's how it should be for badminton too. And who would argue that the ATP and the NBA were born into money? It's individual players that made the associations what they are today. A few years down the line, we could see that happen in badminton too. Nah, change that 'we could' to 'we will'
Wait wait... Yonex is not a non-profit organization! Yonex got most of their money from selling badminton equipment, attire etc. to badmiton fans and players ...and profiting from them! Yonex did not do all those sponsorships out of pity or love for the players... Badminton as we know it today gets money from... players, fans, TV viewers, ticket-buyers, etc.!!!! NOT from Yonex! Yes, in the past Yonex arranged with PBSI that INA's non-National Team players who are ranked 1-30 in the BWF to always wear Yonex. Even though Yonex did not pay a single cent to these non-National team players. The incompetent PBSI management in the past just signed away... thus enabling Yonex to impose a virtual sponsorship monopoly in our country... It doesn't make sense for a brand like Wilson, Carlton, Head, Dunlop, etc. to sponsor a player at that time because... when they reach top 30 in the world, they automatically are forced to use Yonex items... Alvent-Hendra gets some sizeable money outside the National team. Flandy-Vita will too... Candra with whomever his partner shall be too... Taufik too... Alamsyah, Andreas Adityawarman, Bandar Sigit, Budi Santoso, Ahmad Rivai, Fauzi Adnan, Anggun, Endang, Rani, etc. will also get sponsorships from various brands... thus... ENLARGING the POOL OF FUNDS... Even until today the BIG BIG drawback of the 'collective contract' system is: the division of money for the National Team players. And this 'collective contract' actually LIMITS the pool of funds for a Natioal Team... For example: if the total Yonex contract is US$100,000... and the National team has 1 MS, 1 WS, 1 pair of MD, 1 pair of WD, 1 pair of XD... Here's a typical way of dividing it... by ranking or by reputation! 1 MS excellently ranked ....$50,000 1 WS medium ranked .......$10,000 1 MD highly ranked ..........$25,000 1 WD terribly ranked .........$5,000 1 XD medium ranked ........$10,000 Total $100,000 Now... what if all 5 players/pairs in 5 categories are excellently ranked??? 1 MS excellenty ranked ...$20,000 1 WS excellently ranked ..$20,000 1 MD excellently ranked ..$20,000 1 WD excellently ranked ..$20,000 1 XD excellently ranked ...$20,000 The total is still $100,000 :crying: :crying: :crying: Communism!!! Everyone equal [sounds fair], but in a lower level of prosperity for the excellent ones! It is obvious the Yonex 'collective contract' system limits the ability of INA's National Team's management to reward the excellent players they have... So... it is better to be mediocre but stay in the INA National Team for a long time... This is exactly what happened in INA in the past few years... Terrible! I mainly agree with what you wrote here, Oldhand.... I think with Indonesia embarking on the path of individual sponsorships sometime next year... following the footsteps of Denmark, England, France, Hong Kong, etc. .....China, Korea, and Malaysia might want to reconsider their stance on using the 'collective contract' method...
Excellent illustration, Krisna! Your point on long-term mediocrity paying better than short-term excellence is quite disturbing. It highlights how commercial interests are corrupting the sport from within!
CB(asketball)A??? They are even plagued with more problems as far as I know One club hired an ex-NBA player (who were in the same team as Yao Ming), only to learn that he did not return to China after the CNY holiday was over and that player's contract had to be terminated. Yao Ming is hired by the Houston Rockets, which is a franchise (again, the concept of money-making organization) and a team of the NBA.
Much more than you can imagine. There was a thread on the top earners in China (encompassing all areas, not sports alone). Yao Ming was one of the top earners. Lin Dan was about 19th or so. Have to find this thread to for the exact $$
Here is the thread. Go to post #10. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58208&highlight=yao+ming
While no doubting Yonex's contribution to badminton, it should be noted that the sport WILL GROW EVEN BIGGER if other companies are allowed to chip in as well. We did not have such a luxury in Indonesia (as Krisna has discussed thoroughly) due to the system of collective contracts imposed by Yonex on PBSI. The fact that the "peanut" sum of money given by Yonex already allowed INA to win a Gold Medal in every Olympics since 1992 makes you wonder the impact that private sponsorships will have on the sport itself! Both the sponsors and players will benefit because larger pool of money will be circulated and consumers too benefit because they are exposed to more products (not only the great YY ). I strongly agree with Krisna that individual sponsorship of players will have to start in INA, starting from the independent and perhaps club players. This will ensure that they stay committed to the sport and still contribute to the greater good of INA's badminton and the future as well. We have seen that local companies like Astec, Tetra Pak, Alfamart, Gudang Garam, Jawa Pos, Djarum, and now Amway and Pertamina have committed to sponsoring the domestic badminton circuits (including the two annual international tournaments: Djarum Indonesia SS and GGJP Indonesia Int Challenge). The Walikota Tarakan Open which was just concluded last week had a prize money of about US$18k -- more than the standard of an Int Challenge tourney. Hau-Ge also mentioned that Pertamina is even willing to sponsor another GP Gold tourney in Indonesia, starting next year Such is the level of enthusiasm by our local companies. This trend will continue and with more prize money being offered domestically, club (and non-Pelatnas) players will be more motivated to give their best in trainings and tourneys. I can't see any reason why INA badminton will not benefit in the long-run, with the emergence of more private sponsors
The only driving force that counts is television revenue, not sponsors. Television revenue is in turned driven by TV viewers who are interested in watching the game. Sponsors in major sports that have huge TV revenue stream outbid each other to broadcast the games. Badminton is not there yet, far from it. In today's badminton, revenue from television has not jumped by leaps and bounds. In fact TV revenue in badminton pales in comparison with the money sponsors like Yonex and governments like Malaysia put in. Until and unless the TV revenue stream becomes really big, independents and national associations in badminton will have to fight for a piece of a "zero-sum-game" pie.
Again, are we talking about the "same piece of pie" from Yonex alone because clearly, they are not the only company who has the money and ability to sponsor badminton associations and tournaments???? Well, at least in INA, we are fortunate that right now, there's some proof that the pie is not as limited as what you mention No doubt, TV money will be an important source of revenue for any sport! But before we get to the level of million-dollar TV money, let's get down to the basics and fix the system that's so flawed right now with the collective contracts from Yonex I believe that INA badminton is on the right track and we are managing the situation better and better each day. Under the leadership of the new PBSI management and their no-nonsense attitude, as well as the committment and enthusiasm shown by fans and local sponsors in INA, it will be foolish to assume that INA badminton WILL NEED TO RELY ONLY ON YONEX to thrive in the future
