MLB Umps Reach New Deal

[grunewar]

Umpires union, Major League Baseball agree on five-year labor contract - ESPN

[JJ]

Guess I won't be working a strike for a few more years.....

JJ

[kylejt]

I wonder if they're allowed to get endorsement deals with gear makers now. These guys have been wearing Reebok shoes and Wilson gear on TV, and have not seen one thin dime. They even have to black out the Nike logo on their masks, but weren't getting paid for wearing the Wilson stuff. One MLB umpire I spoke to earlier this year was hoping they could go out on their own and get deals. For now, it's just free gear, which is stupid.

[Ump153]

Originally Posted by kylejt

I wonder if they're allowed to get endorsement deals with gear makers now. These guys have been wearing Reebok shoes and Wilson gear on TV, and have not seen one thin dime. They even have to black out the Nike logo on their masks, but weren't getting paid for wearing the Wilson stuff. One MLB umpire I spoke to earlier this year was hoping they could go out on their own and get deals. For now, it's just free gear, which is stupid.

A couple California MiLB umps recently told me that their arrangement with Wilson is no more. Their deal was a discount, though, not free gear.

Also, the AMLU is considering merging with a union affiliated with the AFL/CIO.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Ump153

Also, the AMLU is considering merging with a union affiliated with the AFL/CIO.

So there IS still a chance I could work a strike....

JJ

[kylejt]

Minor league umpires aren't getting squat, as they're not that visible. It's the guys in the Bigs who can pull down some endorsements.

Heck, I had a Nike (and Power bar, Oakley, WD40, Shimano, etc) deal when I was racing mountain bikes, and I wasn't that good. These guys are on TV more than most players. A properly placed logo would be worth THOUSANDS of dollars, but these knuckleheads just don't get it.

The MLB guys got Reebok shoes last year. They also got Wilson gear. They were also excluded from wearing any other logos, BUT they weren't compensated for it. That's stupid. Heck, every time I got a little TV shot, or a picture in a magazine or paper, and my logo was visible, I got product. A couple cases of Power Bars, or new sunglasses. Can you imagine what a PU could get for a three hour game?

[Kevin Finnerty]

My cousin bowled a perfect game in some tournament many years back and he got dozens of bowling balls and a lot of cash from the company whose ball he used, merely because the game was televised.

[Cub42]

MLB controls all endorsement and merchandise deals. The players and teams get a certain percentage of sales. Baseball is not like what you described or NASCAR where the individual teams negotiate there own deals.

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by Cub42

MLB controls all endorsement and merchandise deals. The players and teams get a certain percentage of sales. Baseball is not like what you described or NASCAR where the individual teams negotiate there own deals.

That's simply not the case. Players are free to strike shoe, bat, glove and sunglasses deals on their own. Do you think Jeter uses a Rawlings glove just because he likes the products, or the MLB directs him to? The Yankees get Adidas money, but Derek has a Nike deal. Naw, players have the option of chasing their own deals. All I'm saying is that the umpires should have the same right. As it stands, they're walking billboards with tons of TV time, and don't get paid for it. That's stupid on their part. Their union is either very naive in this matter, or too weak to stand up to the owners.

I talked to a MLB umpire about this earlier in the year. The guys are aware of the issue, and were hoping to get some flexibility on gear in this new deal. I wonder if that happened.

Kids, there's a reason Reebok put that huge white logo on their plate shoes. It's called product placement. They know the PU gets the most air time, and took advantage of it.

[Cub42]

My Bad as to the Players cut.