Elite competitor William Tackett recently opened up about exclusive contracts in Jiu-Jitsu and explained some of the benefits of them for professional grapplers. They’re becoming more prevalent in the sport in recent years and have had a huge impact on matchmaking. Many people have said that this could hold back the growth of the sport, while others would argue that the greater financial rewards available can help the careers of individual competitors. Even major figures in the sport like Craig Jones have cautioned against exclusive contracts, but both sides of the argument have merit and it’s tough to see exactly what effect they will have on the sport.
William Tackett got on to the topic of exclusive contracts because he was discussing the next steps of both his and his younger brother’s career:
“Right now we’re just trying to figure out what’s the best option for both Andrew (Tackett) and I as far as long-term promotion. I think the sport is shifting in the direction where we got events like ONE Championship and UFC that are trying to make leagues for Jiu-Jitsu, and could potentially have a long-term league. Like if the UFC runs something and really puts all their money and effort into it, which it seems like they are, they could have this league starting tomorrow and it could last 20 years or more.”
That’s something that the UFC reportedly does have it’s eye on at the moment and with the financial power they have, it’s not hard to imagine they could dominate the sport. Tackett also explained some of the benefits of affiliating yourself with a promotional powerhouse like that:
“For us, we’re looking to try to participate in something like that. Something that’s gonna give us a long-term relationship with a company because I mentioned earlier on… We’ve both competed on all of the events. All over, dabbled here and there, I’ve competed in Ukraine, I’ve competed in the UK, all the events in the US, and I’ve just never really had anything super consistent. It would be really nice to be locked in with a certain organization that I can really develop a nice relationship with, and we can kinda help each other grow and both benefit from.”
The promotion already has some big names on their roster too, with Mikey Musumeci becoming the first to sign an exclusive contract with them. Tackett explained that there isn’t just a benefit to affiliating with a major promotion, there’s also a benefit to being like Musumeci and getting in early:
”So I think that’s what we’re kinda trying to figure out right now. Trying to figure out like what is our best decision long-term and just kinda make that decision before things take off. We want to be kind of the first to the starting line, I think we did that with CJI pretty well, where Andrew and I were the first two athletes announced for CJI and I would love to be kinda the same, starting off. Like if the UFC starts their league (and) Andrew and I are a part of it early on, I think there’s a huge benefit to that.”
The full interview with William Tackett where he discusses the attraction of signing an exclusive contract was uploaded to his official YouTube channel:
