Bassmaster Elites no longer pay to play - PRO bass fishing will never be the same. Ever.

[WB Staff]

https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com


Bassmaster Elites no longer pay to play
Professional bass fishing will never be the same. Ever.


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Professional bass fishing will never be the same. Ever. That’s a huge statement. In this case, it’s true. B.A.S.S. just announced that the Bassmaster Elite Series, heading into its 20th season, will no longer require entry fees. Yes, you heard that correctly. In 2025, competitors of the most prestigious tournament trail on the planet, for the first time ever in the history of B.A.S.S. competition, will no longer fish for their own money. No longer are Elite Series pros required to pay to play.

This historic decision was not made lightly. B.A.S.S. has long believed that the ultimate goal of the organization’s highest level of competition should be on par with other individual professional sports, like golf and tennis, which do not require pros to pay entry fees to compete. However, on the heels of record-breaking viewership of Bassmaster LIVE on FOX networks and Bassmaster.com, paired with strong long-term partnerships, this ultimate goal has been realized.

“We have been looking at this model for quite some time,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Chase Anderson. “But, we wanted to make sure that when we flip this switch, which we believe will change the face of professional bass fishing, that the concept is sustainable for the future. For the past several months, we’ve done our due diligence and came to the realization that, with the money we planned to allocate to payouts in 2025, we could offer attractive payouts without putting angler money at risk. This change greatly reduces the risk and financial strain required to compete at bass fishing’s highest level. Now, the Elite Series is in a league of its own, and the only league equivalent to other major individual sports.”

Over the last four years, had Elite Series pros been fishing under the new optimized no-entry-fee model, two thirds of the field would have realized more winnings. Moreover, of the anglers who have fished the past four years, 85% of them would have fared better under the no-entry-fee model in at least one of those years. In other words, there are only a handful of instances in the past four years where this no-entry fee model would not have put more money in anglers’ pockets.

To pull back the curtain on the economics of this new model, you have to understand the incredible investment B.A.S.S. is making into the Elite Series payout. The league is increasing its contribution to payouts by $200,000 for 2025, which puts the total investment in payouts for the Elite Series and Bassmaster Classic over $4.1 million (almost $600,000 higher than the contribution of any other bass fishing league). B.A.S.S. is also rolling out a new optimized payout model with an emphasis on pay for performance, which provides an additional 23% boost to earnings over the previous model each year.

Read it all at Bassmaster.com

bassmaster.com/bassmaster-classic/news/bassmaster-elites-no-longer-pay-to-play/

[mark poulson]

Good for them!
I hope it works out for all concerned.

[AVG.JOE]

Bad idea!

[WRB]

The top elite pro B.A.S.S. anglers don’t pay out of pocket entry fees their sponsors cover costs including boats etc. The entry level pro who always finish near the bottom pay out of pocket for everything all the costs.
This change should attract new younger anglers that can excel and replace those anglers stuck in the lower 3rd of the standings. It’s supposed to be a professional sport offering a good career for the skilled anglers.
The only way this works is revenue from TV, Sponsors and advertisers step up.
The local derbies will continue to be prize money based on entry fees.
Tom

[AVG.JOE]

They did it voluntarily-which means in the end it will affect the angler not the org. The payouts after 20 th place are not good-so this only helps out the elites who finish in top 20 . So this will hurt new comers . Previously if u finish in top 50 u would get 10,000, with a 5,000 buy in. Now they pay top 40 and it is $500. That’s not even gas money. Do the math -it is going to hurt newcomers unless u can finish in top 20

[ILW]

So according to this https://newschannel9.com/sports/outdoor ... ay-to-play
The entry fees were $45K a year.

If a pro was paying their own entries, they were already $45K in the hole before, travel expenses, which is a lot to make up before they start to get a profit.

IF a pro got their entry fees paid by a sponsor, technically they had to count that as income and pay taxes on that $45K (say approx $15K between state and federal, depending on tax bracket and state of residence, definitely 33% between the two for those in California) and then pay their own expenses to fish, including boat and truck gas and so how much did they really have to win to be at a break even before earning a profit?

AND IF sponsors no longer have to pay entries, it would make sense they pay pros a stipend for travel expenses (or maybe even give gas cards) and now the pro has no entry cost, no travel expenses and are really keeping what they win as a profit. Less the taxes they have to pay on the expenses that their sponsor pays. But if the sponsor is paying $1K or $2K per event for expenses- that is $9,000 a year or $18,000 a year and a lot less "income" that the pro has to pay taxes on compared to $45,000.

(and in all cases less the amount the governement takes on their winnings)

And if we are going on the thought that the sponsors are paying it all for all of the pros and they all have a free ride, well as for new anglers breaking in, doesn't it seem more likely a sponsor will take a chance on a new guy for $9K in expenses with paid entries or maybe even a couple new guys rather having to risk $45K on every new guy they want to try out in the Elites?

So isn't this a win?

Maybe I have missed or forgotten something, but Im not sure why eliminating a cost of $45K to every Elite pro is that bad?

[Whoopbass]

I don't think anybody knows who gets what paid for except the anglers themselves. I don't know what you mean by top 40 gets paid and its $500. I'm sure its a graduating pay scale. I didn't see where 40th gets $500. Please post a link. The B.A.S.S. website is hard to navigate and I can't find anything definitive.
Jacob Foutz was biotching about the struggles of being a Pro last year. He pays his entries out of pocket and is currently sitting in 4th for AOY. He claims to have always been consistent and has very few sponsors. He's probably missing that one element that gets you sponsors and that's being a salesman.
This format takes the pressure off at least half the field.
Heck they could do it this way and set up a side pot if they want to risk more money.

[WB Staff]

[AVG.JOE]

He said it way better than I did. Like I said:bad idea!
Anybody still think it’s a great idea?

[AVG.JOE]

Still waiting on what people think /now that someone who KNOWS what there talking about responded we get crickets!?

[mark poulson]

Still waiting on what people think /now that someone who KNOWS what there talking about responded we get crickets!?

If what he says is true, it is a bad deal for the anglers.

[AVG.JOE]

I have seen others who fish the series saying the same thing. They would have lost money. Unless ur a top ten finisher( every time)it will hurt most guys paychecks-especially the newer guys