Randy Harrison
After the salary information was released for Affliction: Banned, people noted that Fedor Emelianenko made only $300,000 for the fight and wondered aloud where the justice was in Tim Sylvia making $800,000 for his part in the main event. Now, according to NBCSports.com, it appears there was more than met the eye.
"Emelianenko received a sizable part of his Affliction contract up front in the form of a signing bonus, and added that Emelianenko also owns the rights to his fight footage in several European countries. That second part may not mean much right now but if Affliction chooses to hold an event in Europe, they would have to pay him for the footage."
While this may not seem like much up front, the large signing bonus protected Fedor in the unlikely event of a loss, while holding the rights to the footage is huge for him down the road as we've seen how important the rights to footage can be in the various UFC takeovers. Whether it be for Affliction or for someone else, Fedor will be able to control the use of that footage and get top dollar for it, making money off of fights even well after they've happened, and that's just smart business on any level. So much for the money woes of Fedor Emelianenko.
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