Several Major Sponsors Departing FLW

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

Several of FLW’s major and most visible sponsors won’t subsidize team deals for anglers in 2015, BassFan has learned, leaving several of the sport’s biggest names in search of title sponsorship for next season.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation, including several anglers who stand to be affected, say that Kellogg’s, Castrol, Straight Talk Wireless and Mars Chocolate, all of which have been multi-year sponsors of FLW and have supported multi-angler teams in the past, will not return at the same level of sponsorship they have been at previously. Some will part ways completely with FLW.

What’s more is there is speculation that Chevy may also be planning to significantly scale back its involvement with FLW, a stunning development in light of the automaker’s ties to FLW since the tournament organization’s inception in 1996.

“Yes, there will be changes. Categories will be replaced by competitors,” Trisha Blake, FLW’s president of marketing, told BassFan on Thursday.

Blake declined to comment specifically about the contract status of the companies in question.

“We’re a sport like anything else and sponsors come and go,” Blake said in a phone interview. “This happens every year and obviously there are multi-year (contracts) that we run off of. We’re into the renewal and new business timeframe right now so there are a lot of things that are going to be announced.

“Our partners are out to drive sales and build their brand and when the economy is the way it is, some of their businesses aren’t as healthy as they were before so they have to look at cost reductions. … There’s a lot that’s being worked on right now.”

Blake noted that Walmart’s affiliation with FLW remains secure and will not be affected by other sponsors coming or going.

The news comes just a few weeks before the angler entry fee deposit deadline (Dec. 1) for the 2015 Tour season and deals a potentially seismic blow to FLW, which is still feeling the effects of losing significant financial backing from the National Guard a couple years ago. It also leaves the affected pros little time to put together comparable sponsorship packages for the coming season if other FLW team deals aren’t made available.

At the same time, it may also signal a shift in FLW’s vision for the sponsor team program that it has utilized for many years as a marketing tool for its partners. FLW recently announced measures aimed at creating a less restrictive marketing platform for Tour anglers in 2015 in an effort to allow all anglers, team-affiliated or otherwise, to better promote their whole sponsor portfolio.

It’s believed contracts with these companies will expire on Dec. 31, and it’s possible some could return with a reduced presence, but given their high visibility status in the past that seems unlikely.

It’s also possible other corporations are lined up to fill the potentially massive voids left by the aforementioned departures, however, given that FLW has yet to publish the payout structure for its 2015 Tour events and entry fees are slated to increase $300 per Tour event for next year, it appears the organization could be bracing for the financial impact of the departures.

All-Star Cast

The roster of anglers impacted by this potential exodus includes some of the sport’s icons and top performers. In 2014, the Chevy team alone included Larry Nixon, Jay Yelas, Luke Clausen, Bryan Thrift, Dion Hibdon, reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion Anthony Gagliardi and Jimmy Houston.

While anglers affiliated with the other sponsored teams were informed of the moves last week, representatives of the automaker were scheduled to have a conference call with the Chevy team on Thursday. Blake confirmed the call was postponed until next week due to a scheduling conflict. Chevy and FLW last announced a multi-year sponsorship agreement in January 2011.

FLW’s announcement last month of the 2015 BFL tournament details, which also included an entry-fee increase, may have provided a small clue that Chevy’s involvement with the organization could be waning. In recent years, winners of BFL regional championships were awarded a new Silverado pickup along with a fully rigged Ranger boat. Next year, regional winners will win a Ranger boat along with $20,000 cash. The 2015 BFL information published on FLW’s website, however, indicates Chevy will sponsor the BFL Wild Card event and offer a $1,000 cash prize for division Anglers of the Year.

Castrol, Kellogg’s Have Left Before

Castrol, whose team included FLW’s career money leader David Dudley as well as Mike Surman, Darrell Robertson and Phil Jarabeck, has seen its involvement with FLW fluctuate in the past. The oil brand downgraded its sponsorship considerably in 2010, but returned the following year and fielded a three-man team (Dudley, Surman and Robertson). It’s possible Castrol will still be involved with one or more of the team members going forward, but sources say those would be privately-brokered arrangements.

The Kellogg’s team last year featured Dave Lefebre (Frosted Flakes), Greg Bohannan (Pop-Tarts), Jim Tutt (Rice Krispies) and Shin Fukae (Cheez-Itz/Pringles). Kellogg’s took a 1-year hiatus from FLW sponsorship in 2010, which coincided with Walmart’s temporary pullout, but returned in 2011.

Scott Canterbury and JT Kenney were the Straight Talk Wireless team anglers. Jim Moynagh was the lone Mars-affiliated pro in 2014.

Blake said it’s premature to assume all anglers that could be affected by sponsors electing to not fund team deals next year would be placed on other teams. There simply may be more anglers than available slots.

“There shouldn’t be any assumptions out there,” she said. “When we do have sponsors come on, there is criteria that they need to meet. Ultimately, the decision is left to the sponsor. Those decisions that were made regarding anglers on those teams came down to choices from the sponsors. Moving forward, can I say that every single one of those anglers that had a team deal is going to have them again? No.”

Anglers Caught Off Guard

While most of the FLW team angler sponsorship contracts are 1-year arrangements, the decisions took the anglers mostly by surprise. Kenney, who’s been affiliated with Straight Talk Wireless for the past 4 seasons, became aware of the cell phone service provider’s position last week.

“FLW called me and told me Straight Talk was out and I don’t have a deal,” he said. “There’s not much more to it than that at this point.”

Blake said it’s standard practice to promptly advise team anglers of any changes to the team structure or sponsor involvement.

“As soon as we hear from a sponsor that their needs have changed or their business changes or the landscape changes or as soon as we hear that the angler team will be going away or anything like that then, out of fairness to the anglers, we want to let them know as soon as possible,” she said. “We want to let them know that they have to go out there and find other support. In the timeframe that we’re in, as soon as we hear that from a partner, we have an obligation to let the anglers know.”

Kenney said losing his title sponsor this late in the calendar year will make it incredibly challenging to gather equivalent financial backing heading into the 2015 season.

“Everyone’s marketing budget is already spent,“ he said. “I had a couple things lined up, but when it came time to sign contracts, they didn’t happen. It’s pretty bad. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Jim Tutt, who’s been a member of the Kellogg’s team for 13 of the past 14 years, told BassFan he received a call from an FLW executive on the morning of Nov. 3 informing him that the Kellogg’s sponsorship would not continue and that he should seek alternate sponsors.

“I get that business is business and people get hired and fired all the time. I get it,” he said. “The aggravating thing to me was the timing of the situation. It’s horrible. I’m very frustrated with how the situation was handled and the timing of it all, but I’m going to take this negative energy and channel it by seeking a new major sponsor. I haven’t had to do that in the past so maybe it’s the push I need to go out and get a better sponsor for myself.”

Bohannan said he hasn’t been told “100 percent that they won’t be back,” referring to the status of Kellogg’s, but that’s not stopping him from attempting to formulate a backup plan in the event the cereal and convenience food giant bolts.

“In the meantime, I’m working on other stuff,” he said. “I’m not sitting on my heels. I love representing Kellogg’s. It’s a fun brand to represent all over the country.”

Tutt admitted that he’s concerned about the future of FLW in light of the simultaneous loss of these major sponsors.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how all of this shakes out,” he said. “Although I lost Kellogg’s as my sponsor, I will be fishing the Tour in 2015 and continue to support the tour and all my current sponsors. I genuinely hope that they continue forward in the future.”