How far down the list do you expect players to be substantively (more than some free discs) sponsored ?
Do you expect the top 25 to be sponsored ?
How about the top 50 ?
With respect to the gentleman parting ways with DD, when I look at his 2021 finishes, on average, he finishes in 38th place.
I first did it raw (37th), then noodled with the numbers, dropped his 2 A-Tiers (1st place and 36th place), which rendered 39th, then also dropped his best and worst finish across the NTs+USDGC, then 38th.
So on average, 10th card.
Not really trying to focus on him, but if you are running a disc company (manufacturer or retailer), you do have to look at ROI, so can not spend too much money unless it pays you back in some discernible way.
If someone is not on the top cards and making it onto Jomez and Gatekeeper vids throwing rad shots where the mold gets called out, then you need to bring something else to the game that disc golfers can relate to and spend a few bucks on.