FLW relaxed its logo policy earlier this month, then revised that policy to clarify that pros may wear non-competing logos and signage during all 4 days of FLW Tour competition.

Although the list of categories that remain exclusive to FLW Outdoors is expansive – everything from breakfast products to household cleaners to

soft drinks – there's room to maneuver. Especially important is that FLW lays no claim to tackle sponsorships – that category remains wide open. Energy's wide-open as well – a category that some pros have been able to capitalize on in past years.

Several FLW Tour pros enjoy major tackle sponsorships, and under the new policy, such sponsors will receive significantly more visibility during the all-important TV days.

One example would by reigning FLW Tour Angler of the Year Bryan Thrift, who this year wore his Damiki jersey, but was forced to wear an FLW sponsor jersey (like Folgers) during TV coverage. Thrift will now he able to wear a full Damiki jersey, Cody Meyer will wear his widely recognizable Jackall jersey, Mark Rose can display Strike King as much as he likes. Those are just a few examples of many.

It'll likely never be known whether the relaxed policy actually allows anglers to negotiate a greater financial return from sponsors, since such contracts are typically kept private. But certainly the logo policy will, at the least, help some FLW Tour pros retain vital sponsorship, which is extremely important in this economic climate.

The Tackle Guys

Rose, for one, is happy about the new policy. He plans to fish the 2011 Tour – both the Majors and Opens – and Strike King will figure prominently in his attire.

"I'm thankful that I'm going to be able to wear Strike King," he said. "It would have been a shame not to display a company that's not only my sponsor, but is just a great company in this industry. They're such great people at Strike King – they care a lot about our resource and our industry. I'm thankful they'll be a lot more prominent now."

Meyer finished 2nd and 3rd in the two most recent Forrest Wood Cups. His black, white and red Jackall Bros. jersey was a huge part of days 1 and 2, but once the cameras started rolling, he faded into an FLW sponsor jersey.

"I think it's great," he said of the relaxed policy. "I talked to Jackall about it and they think it's a great idea too. You know, I've talked to companies in the past about doing something with sponsorship, and they said, 'Well, everything sounds great, but you don't get the exposure BASS does.' Maybe this new policy will help other guys out too and bring more people aboard."

Another factor under the new policy: BASS pros who might consider a tour switch would now be able to promote their tackle sponsors on TV days.

BASS pro Bernie Schultz is heavily involved with Rapala. He's waiting to hear what BASS announces for next year after the pending sale of the league closes, but the relaxed logo policy has at least opened his eyes to the FLW Tour.

"I'm encouraged by it – I can say that," Schultz told BassFan. "And I'm definitely taking a second look at the FLW Tour. I'd actually like to fish both tours. It comes down to scheduling, but the relaxed logo policy is more appealing that it was. In the context of Rapala it makes a lot of sense for me, but I think it's better for fishermen across the board. Hopefully it'll get even better as time goes by."

However, just because pros can now display tackle and non-competing sponsors, that doesn't mean a flood of pros will suddenly have the cash to fund a tour career. Take for example California pro Justin Kerr, who won the FLW Tour Rookie of the Year award last year. He's sponsored by Evergreen – like Jackall, a Japanese tackle company looking to expand its U.S. marketshare. But such a sponsorship only takes Kerr so far, even with a relaxed logo policy, and he's still not to the point where he can fund another tour campaign.

In the past, FLW Tour ROYs have been offered an FLW team deal, and Kerr's hopeful such plans might include his name. But the league has yet to announce any new teams. For now, Kerr's caught between needing to register for the Tour this week but not having the funding to do it.



BassFan
Photo: BassFan

Brandon Coulter will be able to feature a new coal sponsorship during all days of competition next season.

"Evergreen will only pay about half the Tour for me," Kerr said. "I probably have to buy a new boat – move to Ranger – so I'm $80,000 into the year before I ever make a cast. I'll still be with Evergreen, and I'll be giving my résumé to FLW for sure, but unless I can get some kind of sponsorship I might not be able to fish the Tour and will have to fish some BASS Opens or the PAA."

Coulter Still with Coal

A slightly different perspective comes from 4-year FLW Tour pro Brandon Coulter, who's thrilled about the new policy and thinks a lot of pros have the wrong outlook on the sponsor market.

He owned an ad agency for 15 years and told BassFan that tough economic times can be the best times for sponsorships, because companies are forced to find creative ways to market under ever-shrinking budgets.

He was title-sponsored by National Coal for several years, but this year will run a new coal sponsorship by Xinergy, which doesn't compete with any FLW categories. Not only that, Xinergy's going to sponsor an additional FLW Tour pro and co-angler to run a three-man independent team on the 2011 Tour.

Plans for the team were laid before the policy was relaxed, Coulter said, but the news was tremendously welcome at Xinergy.

"We were ecstatic when we heard the new policy, because it really enhanced what we were planning to do," Coulter noted. "And this opportunity with Xinergy is a big step up for me. There'll be an official announcement on it soon, but joining me on the team will be Tom Spangler, who was a co-angler on the Tour for a year, then was a boater last year on the (FLW) Series. He just retired as Knoxville Sheriff chief deputy and Xinergy's giving back to the community and giving him the chance to take the next step in his dream. The third spot on the team is going to a co-angler.

"As far as the new logo policy, it still sets us up a little short of being able to promote ourselves 100% as anglers, because we still have to promote the Tour at some level," Coulter added. "But it's maybe 80/20 now in favor of us, where it used to be 80/20 in favor of the Tour. We still can't go into a company and say we can promote them 100%, and I don't know if we'll ever get there, but we're getting a lot closer – really close."