By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
The on-the-water changes FLW announced it’s making for the 2016 Tour season were met with a largely positive response from pro anglers who intend to compete next year. The issues addressed by the moves have been hot-button items with pros for several years and FLW’s willingness to move on the issues was well received.
What wasn’t so well-received and what raised questions among pros were the alterations made to the entry fees and payouts. In short, anglers will be paying more to compete for less despite the addition of two Invitational tournaments next fall.
To recap, here are the highlights of what FLW announced last week:
> Pros will be able to compete out of their own boats on the final day of FLW Tour events. Previously, FLW supplied wrapped Ranger boats for the Top 10 anglers to use on Day 4. Anglers have been asking for this concession for several years now and FLW finally fulfilled that request.
> FLW has further reduced its logo display restrictions during the final two days, dropping the number of exclusive categories from nine to five. This will allow competitors to freely promote their sponsors across all 4 days of competition.
> FLW has added two additional tournaments that will occur after the Forrest Wood Cup. The 125-boat fields will require a $4,000 entry fee and will not include co-anglers. The winner will receive $100,000 and an automatic berth to the 2017 Cup. Payouts, based on a full field, will be down to 35th place ($7,000). Anglers have been asking for additional opportunities to compete against top competition since FLW did away with its Tour Opens after 2012 and while the anglers are pleased with additional opportunities to compete, some were concerned by the low payback ratio and fear that the fields won’t be near capacity.
> Entry fees for the six regular FLW Tour events increased $200 to $4,500 per event, or $27,000 for the season. It’s the second season in a row pros have had to shell out more money in entry fees after FLW had held the line on increases for the previous 5 years.
> Payouts for the six Tour events will be down to 50th place as FLW has eliminated the $10,000 payouts to those finishing in 51st through 60th. That’s a savings of $600,000 over the course of the season, but it’s the one move that drew the most attention from anglers.
> The top prize at the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup will be $300,000, a reduction of $200,000 from recent years. The rest of the Cup payouts will remain unchanged.
> With co-anglers no longer competing for berths in the Forrest Wood Cup, FLW will institute a Co-Angler of the Year payout for 2016, under which the Top 10 co-anglers will receive a merchandise or cash bonus. The Co-Angler of the Year will receive a boat/motor package.
On Thursday, FLW sent a follow-up letter to anglers in an attempt to explain some of the changes. While it didn’t outline specific reasons for payout reductions, the letter acknowledged that FLW has had to adjust its programs in order “to strike a balance using a sustainable model that maximizes the opportunities for all stakeholders, including pros, co-anglers, sponsors, hosts and fans.
“The modern era of professional bass fishing, complete with deep payouts and $100,000+ top awards was ushered in by FLW in the late '90s and was followed by a decade of unprecedented growth,” the letter continued. “When the economy took a turn for the worse, FLW stood fast. We absorbed sponsor cutbacks and continued to provide the sport’s best payouts. This year we had to make some adjustments.”
Changes Made With Future In Mind
FLW president of operations Kathy Fennel told BassFan on Thursday that there was a definite cause-and-effect relationship between FLW’s sponsor losses in recent years and the reduced payouts for 2016. She also knew the alterations would stir some negative feedback among anglers.
“We didn’t expect people to cheer the cutback in payouts,” she said in a phone interview. “We understand that reaction, but we feel it’s important to provide a great platform and circuit, and for our organization and sponsors and the industry, it’s important for us to have a model that is sustainable and these changes are necessary for the times we’re in right now.”
Fennel added that the financial maneuvering was done to “ensure the long-term viability” of the organization.
“We work hard at what we do and look forward to the time when we can go in the other direction, but the reality is we have maintained those payouts for as long as we could,” she said. “These changes, from a business perspective, should’ve been made sooner, but we’re proud that we were able to maintain those payouts and of what we were still able to offer.”
Money Moves
What had some pros scratching their heads is the way payouts have been allocated for next year. In the past, FLW has been seen as a better value for anglers because of its lower entry fees compared to the Bassmaster Elite Series and because payouts extended deeper into the field than the Elite Series.
While the entry fees remain comparably lower than B.A.S.S., FLW has joined B.A.S.S. in only paying back the Top 50 finishers.
Here’s a closer look at how the financial changes add up for next season:
By increasing entry fees for the six Tour events and incorporating the two new Invitationals, FLW stands to bring in $1,057,600 in additional revenue at the Tour level in 2016. That’s assuming 150-boat fields for each Tour event (same as 2015) and 125-boat fields for each Invitational.
Dan Morehead was encouraged by some of the changes FLW announced for next year, but disappointed by the payout reduction.
By limiting payouts at the Tour events to the Top 50 finishers and reducing the winner’s share at the Cup, FLW is saving $800,000 over the course of the season and by not paying co-anglers at the Cup, FLW will see another $184,000 in savings for a total of $984,000.
Payouts for the Invitationals will account for $925,000 and the new Co-Angler of the Year payout will soak up another $59,000.
The savings from the payout reductions at the Tour events and Cup will offset the payouts for the Invitationals and the Co-Angler of the Year, meaning FLW’s bottom line will see a $1.05 million bump from the new entry fee revenue.
Mixed Reactions
BassFan spoke with several FLW Tour anglers in the days following the announcement to gauge their feelings on what impact they would have. It was a sheer mix of positive feedback regarding the boat usage and fewer sponsor restrictions and uncertainty and questions about the financial changes. Below is a sampling of their responses:
Darrell Davis
“I love the fact that they’ll let us use our boats all 4 days. That’s a move in the right direction. Taking money from the Cup sucks. They have more revenue coming in. I’d like to know where that $800,000 is going.
“I’m still an FLW fan, don’t get me wrong, but they waited until the last minute to drop this bomb on us. Overall, I’m trying to make a living doing it. The $200 an event increase is not bad, but the fact that money coming in went up and money going out went down raises questions. I know it’s a business and if they need a raise, they deserve one, but don’t take something away from us.
“I do like that they’re moving in right direction with letting us use our boats all 4 days. I’m looking forward to that. That’s opened a lot doors for us allowing us to use our stuff all 4 days.”
Ramie Colson, Jr.
“There are a few changes that I like. Using our boat all 4 days – that’s one thing we pressed for – but then we turn around and you go from $500,000 to $300,000 (to win) at the Cup and they cut 10 places out at each Tour event.
“I don’t understand what the deal is with the money. FLW is a big organization and have done well for us and themselves over the years. I’m sure there’s a reason behind it. I won’t ever say anything bad about any organization because this is what I do for a living, but I’m disappointed in a roundabout way because a few of the changes were good, but the money part leaves me wondering.”
Dan Morehead
“We did win a victory on getting to use our boats all 4 days and that’s great, but it’s completely overshadowed by everything else they did. My problem is I take it personal. I’ve put all of my eggs in the FLW basket since 2002 and it’s been good to me. I’m not bashing it, but I’d like to get an honest, straight answer from somebody who can explain how they came up with this and tell me how this is a good thing.
“If it’s either this or go out of business, then I’m all in, but if it’s typical business as usual, then I’m unhappy. It looks like they went halfway on the two extra tournaments with no co-anglers and a $4,000 entry fee for a chance at $7,000. Based on that, I can’t say that it’s progress.”
Jason Reyes
“I see that they gave anglers a few things they wanted, but at the end of the day, it was to benefit FLW to do a few of those things, Now, they don’t have to drag 10 boats all over the place for seven events. Also removing some of the sponsor exclusions makes a lot of sense and is proactive for the fishing side.
“On the money side, they say they’re excited about the new changes, but I see we were drastically cut on the payouts and entry fee side. I understand the increase in entry fees. We’re lower than B.A.S.S., obviously, but that’s 2 years in a row with an entry fee increase.
“At what expense did we get two extra tournaments and be able to fish out of our own boats? How much did that cost us per angler? They’re selling it like it’s better for us, but when you look at the numbers it’s a whole lot worse. The additional $200 is minor compared to the decrease in payouts.”
