Combat sports attorney Erik Magraken has issued a stern warning about problematic management contracts in mixed martial arts, calling them “dog s**t” and urging athletes to be cautious before signing.
In a recent video message, Magraken revealed he has reviewed numerous management contracts from around the world and shared crucial advice for competitors based on his experience helping athletes terminate such agreements.
“Get advice before you sign the contract because it’s a lot easier to not sign a bad contract than it is to try and get out of a bad contract,” Magraken advised.
The lawyer emphasized that regardless of the terms – whether related to promotion placement, bout negotiations, or sponsorship deals – athletes should always maintain the right to terminate their management contracts.
Magraken highlighted the relatively brief nature of professional careers in the sport, questioning why athletes should remain bound to ineffective representation: “Your professional fighting career is extraordinarily short, on average, only a few years. Why should you be stuck with a manager for two years, three years, four years if they’re doing a terrible job?”
Drawing parallels to other professional services, he noted, “Imagine if your dentist said, only I could work on your teeth for the next three years, sign this contract. You wouldn’t. What if your accountant did that? What if your lawyer did that?”
His key recommendation for athletes is to negotiate an at-will termination clause that allows them to end the relationship if their manager’s performance is unsatisfactory. “You should be able to walk away from professionals that are doing a bad job. Managers are no different,” Magraken concluded.
It’s not just in MMA – it’s BJJ too
Oliver Taza also spoke candidly about the pitfalls of exclusive contracts in a growing professional jiu-jitsu landscape. Sharing his experiences with ONE Championship, Taza highlighted the complexities of committing to such agreements.
“They’re like ‘oh well you can’t fight anywhere else’…and then the timing of it was weird like they were hitting me up like two weeks before the match where you have to go to Asia,” Taza explained.
The rushed circumstances and restrictive terms raised concerns for Taza. He noted that poor preparation time could jeopardize performance and, in turn, future opportunities:
“Let’s say the match doesn’t go my way, now I’m stuck. You guys are not going to be down to get me a match because I didn’t put on the best performance.”
Taza revealed that ONE Championship has approached him multiple times over the past two years, initially through Leo Vieira and later via Tom DeBlass. While exclusive contracts can provide stability and regular competition opportunities, Taza advises athletes to scrutinize terms carefully. Timing, preparation, and long-term career implications must all be considered before committing. Taza hinted he was offered a chance to face ONE FC champ Tye Ruotolo on two weeks notice in a highly unfavorable matchup.
Bodoni confirmed he too was contacted by ONE FC several times. He also added an interesting nugget – Leo Vieira might not be with ONE FC anymore – his role was taken over by Tom DeBlass. This is particularly interesting considering Marcelo Garcia signed for ONE FC due to their association with Vieira.
“I’m learning how to pick my shots. We talk about it, but it also taught me to go over a contract, like actually hitting up a lawyer. Because jiu-jitsu guys, you know, we don’t see it—we don’t look at it in a professional way, let’s say, as an MMA fighter would. And I feel it’s good; it’s taking it in that direction.”
“I never thought one day I’d be reading a freaking 10—I mean, I’m not reading it, the lawyer is—but going over a 10-page contract with me and saying, ‘Yo, be careful of this, be careful of that. Ask them about this, ask them about that.'”
“It’s not something we usually think of, but it’s good because it’s going to teach grapplers more about being athletes, being professionals. The sport is still pretty amateur—not as much as five years ago.” – Taza cautioned.
Bodoni added: “But we’re scratching the surface. We’re not up there yet. We’re being recognized, though—people know what jiu-jitsu is.”
