Tournament and Sponsorship Growth Yields Angler Opportunity

The history of professional bass fishing glistens with tales of ambitious upstarts sleeping in their trucks and surviving on Beanie Weenies, for the chance to make it as a pro. Meager meals and humble accommodations have led some to fame and fortune, but for many others the financial challenges of funding a tournament season have snuffed their hopes.

Today’s professional bass-fishing scene offers far greater opportunities for competitors than even a decade ago. What was once a feast-or-famine proposition now offers more livable middle ground. Everyone shoots for the top, but fewer have to starve to get there. The catalysts: More money in tournament purses, and more corporate sponsorship support.

Sam Swett of Covington, Louisiana, knows this story well. Fishing the CITGO Bassmaster Tour and the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, he started his professional bass career in the early 1990s and found it a tough way to make a living. A tournament win meant maybe $30,000, and anything outside of a top-10 finish barely covered expenses.

Tournament $$ Today

But in February 2004, Swett topped the FLW’s Atchafalaya Basin tournament and earned a $100,000 paycheck. Such winnings, plus the financial support he receives from fishing for Team Fujifilm, exemplify the lucrative potential of his career choice.

And it’s only getting better, as the past decade has seen strong growth in tournament schedules and prize money on both major circuits. For example, the Bassmaster Tour has expanded from 6 to 11 events in 2006 and increased its payout schedule from 75 places to 125, adding $75,475 per tournament. The Bassmaster Classic prize purse increases from $700,000 to $1 million in 2006, with a first-place prize of $500,000. “We’re providing more and better opportunities for anglers to establish viable long-term careers,” said BASS General Manager Don Rucks. “These changes have been a long time coming and help to build and strengthen our sport.”

Doug Grassian, of ESPN Outdoors/BASS Communications, adds: “For our 2006 season, the changes we’ve made to our tournament trails allow anglers to make a living by simply fishing our events. This is an exciting time in BASS, as anglers have so many opportunities to earn a living doing something they love.”

In July 2005, FLW Outdoors electrified the fishing world by announcing plans for the first $1 million first-place prize in its Ranger Owners Championship, which boasts a total purse of $2.5 million (dates and location to be announced at the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Championship in Birmingham, Alabama). On the FLW Tour, anglers fish for $900,000 purses ($100,000 for first place) in four qualifying events, $1.25 million in a pair of opens ($200,000 for first) and $1.5 million at the Forrest L. Wood Championship, where the winner gets $500,000 and all are guaranteed at least $15,000.

Dave Washburn, Vice President of Communications for FLW Outdoors, said that these numbers, along with a regular season prize structure paying $10,000 to 50th place, create a doable scenario for anglers. “If you look at the entire season—including the Forrest L. Wood Championship, which awards $15,000 to the angler finishing in last place—an angler who averages 50th place earns at least $75,000 before expenses.”

The Sponsorship Game

The headwaters for this river of bass bucks are found in sponsorship. Corporate entities write hefty checks to display their names and logos across the largest segment of the nation’s largest participation sport, both in terms of tour sponsorship and individual angler support.

With more participants than golf and tennis combined, the national fishing market of approximately 44.3 million anglers (estimate by American Sportfishing Association—ASA) presents a broad platform for product promotion. According to ASA statistics, the fishing industry annually generates $41.5 billion in retail sales, $116 billion in overall economic output, $7.3 billion in state and federal taxes, and 1,068,046 jobs. Those are strong numbers that corporate America doesn’t ignore.