The Inevitable 2024 Pros Switching Sponsors Thread

[PastorofMuppets]

Tin Foil hat theory incoming...

- Discmania already had a deal in place with Gannon prior to last year's Prodigy lawsuit which postponed his move to Discmania, and ultimately Discmania was purchased by HOD after this arrangement.
- HOD purchases Discmania and implements their "one superstar MPO per brand" model (Ricky with DD, Matty-O with Westside, Gannon with Discmania if the above tracks true)
- Lat 64 is left without a MPO superstar leaving room for Eagle, and they certainly have the funds to pay him and Eagle stays in the HOD family

While I do believe MVP is probably the odds on favorite, I agree that it seems like a large contract obligation for a very small needle move in revenue for MVP. I don't believe Discraft pays that salary either for the same reasons. Infinite seems like a reasonable possibility. Innova seems out because they have released their team already. Could one of the smaller brands offer Eagle part ownership, his own line, and take a chance on throwing big money at Eagle to jumpstart themselves, possibly, but again, doubtful on a long term deal.

 

[DanJon]

I keep seeing people say online that HOD doesn't want to do lateral moves amongst companies, as that could make the former brand look bad.

 

[redflyer717]

Holly Finley commented on reddit that Innova's team was posted January 1st. I'll take that as he will not be going to Innova.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

Firstly I don't think the announcement of team rosters makes any difference to an Eagle signing. They're all building hype or whatever, that said I don't think innova will get him, he's too niche, i think he wants to be a big personality and innova and discraft are kinda stuffy...

He built his internet presence alongside Simon as they figured stuff out growing up together kinda. His body is busted and undoubtedly he's heard from his bud what it's like and MVP doesn't or hasn't signed top pros solely on performance. He might settle down and in for a little less money with a chance to make some real money on disc sales. Little less upfront (maybe?) but some job security.. and another disc family that's cool with him being him.

They could also pay him some megabucks... They've been making tons of it, play the long game on riding the wave and trying to extend it with solid media content is a good strategy.

 

[Casey 1988]

Tin Foil hat theory incoming...

- Discmania already had a deal in place with Gannon prior to last year's Prodigy lawsuit which postponed his move to Discmania, and ultimately Discmania was purchased by HOD after this arrangement.
- HOD purchases Discmania and implements their "one superstar MPO per brand" model (Ricky with DD, Matty-O with Westside, Gannon with Discmania if the above tracks true)
- Lat 64 is left without a MPO superstar leaving room for Eagle, and they certainly have the funds to pay him and Eagle stays in the HOD family

While I do believe MVP is probably the odds on favorite, I agree that it seems like a large contract obligation for a very small needle move in revenue for MVP. I don't believe Discraft pays that salary either for the same reasons. Infinite seems like a reasonable possibility. Innova seems out because they have released their team already. Could one of the smaller brands offer Eagle part ownership, his own line, and take a chance on throwing big money at Eagle to jumpstart themselves, possibly, but again, doubtful on a long term deal.

When You say Part ownership I am thinking Brand former owner of Prodigy who wtih his brand is making discs mainly for other companies and Eagle is partner with his brand to make his own line of discs Eagle's Nest or something like this.

 

[Flick Maniac]

Perhaps HoD will become his sponsor so he could represent and throw their whole lineup?

This is kind of what I am expecting for Niklas. Could be, I dont know.

 

[DG Fanatic]

Tin Foil hat theory incoming...

- Discmania already had a deal in place with Gannon prior to last year's Prodigy lawsuit which postponed his move to Discmania, and ultimately Discmania was purchased by HOD after this arrangement.
- HOD purchases Discmania and implements their "one superstar MPO per brand" model (Ricky with DD, Matty-O with Westside, Gannon with Discmania if the above tracks true)
- Lat 64 is left without a MPO superstar leaving room for Eagle, and they certainly have the funds to pay him and Eagle stays in the HOD family

While I do believe MVP is probably the odds on favorite, I agree that it seems like a large contract obligation for a very small needle move in revenue for MVP. I don't believe Discraft pays that salary either for the same reasons. Infinite seems like a reasonable possibility. Innova seems out because they have released their team already. Could one of the smaller brands offer Eagle part ownership, his own line, and take a chance on throwing big money at Eagle to jumpstart themselves, possibly, but again, doubtful on a long term deal.

Seems a little crazy. Love it!

 

[biscoe]

Tin Foil hat theory incoming...

- Discmania already had a deal in place with Gannon prior to last year's Prodigy lawsuit which postponed his move to Discmania, and ultimately Discmania was purchased by HOD after this arrangement.
- HOD purchases Discmania and implements their "one superstar MPO per brand" model (Ricky with DD, Matty-O with Westside, Gannon with Discmania if the above tracks true)

Kyle klein may differ with your assessment on the "one superstar per brand" thing.

While I do believe MVP is probably the odds on favorite, I agree that it seems like a large contract obligation for a very small needle move in revenue for MVP.

Signing Eagle is a partially speculative move for whoever does it. He sells a lot of discs now but nothing sells discs like a World Championship. MVP sold more Envies the year James won the WC than they sold discs the year prior. If healthy Eagle is going to be one of the favorites to win a WC for years to come. There are certainly folks out there who would call Eagle the best player in the world when healthy.

 

[HyooMac]

I still have trouble believing Eagle to MVP for Streamline. It doesn't make business sense to me that MVP would invest so heavily in bringing attention to their non-Gyro line. Saying "We can make it all" diminishes the differentiator they've invested in from the start.

So if not MVP, where?

Honestly, I liked the idea of Innova because Eagle is such a "mold head" that he'd have everything to play with when designing a line. But I don't think Innova wants anyone who's bigger than the brand itself. You have to believe every offer he's received is to design his own line - and Innova hasn't gone beyond your series/signature versions of existing discs.

Lat64 would be able to play on his appeal in Europe (and for that matter, so would Prodigy Europe). It's unknown (at least to me) what HoD's "rules" are regarding sibling brands switching pros, or pros being able to play multiple brands.

But it's going to take money to sign Eagle, and HoD brings with it the likelihood of bringing new money to the table to invest in disc golf. And how make a bigger splash than by signing one of the biggest names?

I guess you could make almost the exact same case for Gannon.

So, Gannon to Discmania and Eagle to Lat64?

 

[CrowLegs]

Long shot theory.....

Trash Panda!

They are based in Colorado, they have the hippy vibe, and Eagle could have free reign to design discs. They just signed Eica Stichcomb, maybe they have some investor backing the now....

 

[PastorofMuppets]

Kyle klein may differ with your assessment on the "one superstar per brand" thing.

Does Kyle move plastic? I honestly don't know that answer. Kyle is a great player for sure on the course, but does he have the fan base to generate the disc sales the others do?

 

[strunk flugget]

Ok moar speculation -

... So why pay a premium for something you already have?...

... His body is busted and undoubtedly he's heard from his bud what it's like and MVP doesn't or hasn't signed top pros solely on performance....

I'm surprised this hasn't been brought up more in discussions but Eagle hasn't been the same player since he screwed up his arm. And now he is having surgery. This isn't a slam dunk hire for any brand and I don't think Eagle can demand the same type of deals we saw last year for guys like AB and Simon. For me it's between Innova and MVP. He is big enough that the big brands will still want him so I don't seem him necessarily going to smaller brands that may want to take a risk. One of Simon's biggest pulls for MVP was being able to have a say in the design of his own discs. There aren't too many brands doing that sort of thing for their pros and, as others have stated, Eagle has always been very interested in molds and their development. For so many reasons this could make sense for him to come to MVP. I will continue to say--I will believe it when I see it. There are a lot of reasons (SImon's lack of videos, especially with Paul joining) is what has me suspicious.

 

[Dcinmd]

I keep seeing people say online that HOD doesn't want to do lateral moves amongst companies, as that could make the former brand look bad.

All this hype for a player to leave a subsidiary to play for the parent company seems pretty lame.

 

[dehaas]

I still have trouble believing Eagle to MVP for Streamline. It doesn't make business sense to me that MVP would invest so heavily in bringing attention to their non-Gyro line. Saying "We can make it all" diminishes the differentiator they've invested in from the start.

So if not MVP, where?

Honestly, I liked the idea of Innova because Eagle is such a "mold head" that he'd have everything to play with when designing a line. But I don't think Innova wants anyone who's bigger than the brand itself. You have to believe every offer he's received is to design his own line - and Innova hasn't gone beyond your series/signature versions of existing discs.

Lat64 would be able to play on his appeal in Europe (and for that matter, so would Prodigy Europe). It's unknown (at least to me) what HoD's "rules" are regarding sibling brands switching pros, or pros being able to play multiple brands.

But it's going to take money to sign Eagle, and HoD brings with it the likelihood of bringing new money to the table to invest in disc golf. And how make a bigger splash than by signing one of the biggest names?

I guess you could make almost the exact same case for Gannon.

So, Gannon to Discmania and Eagle to Lat64?

What about Eagle to Infinite where he pretty much has all the OG DM Originals at his disposal?

They could even rebrand those to Eagle's own line.

 

[Hyzerflipforehand]

If Eagle's intent is to have his own disc line, would MVP really put a third player line of discs? With how many molds they already have across the 3 brands, and James/Simon still coming out with plenty more discs, is there room for more? I also don't see HOD doing an umbrella brand sponsorship. It wouldn't be a good look for brands like DM and Kasta to have them appear like a subsidiary to L64. And to think that Innova wouldn't shell out cash for Eagle is insane. They did it for Ricky when they signed him away fro L64 as a 2x world champ. My guess would be Innova or Infinite, I just don't see Eagle hopping over to MVP just to live in Simon's shadow... Eagle needs to make a splash with this move and stand out.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

I doubt if a lateral move to keep throwing the same plastic will happen.... Lat64 is a good Longshot... I doubt if they will give him Streamline you're right it's counterproductive to their gyro pushing.

Simon and Eagle both end their videos with "peace" every time, I doubt if Eagle has concerns about being in Simons shadow, I think he has more concerns about longevity, earning potential and his shoulder. If anything he'll want to go out there and smack his buddy down on the course with the same plastic. A little healthy competition and back into a comfortable competitive working relationship.

Kinda what us construction guys do with the (camp) jobs, you always see the same circle of friends on the same crews. One guy gets in then tries to stack a crew with his friends.

99% he's leaving, 99% MVP. My buddy is half right so far....

 

[TheOtherBill]

If you aren't subscribed to BergNerd, he puts out some crazy shit.

 

[kyflash]

There has been quite an exodus at LSD. Sponsored players, as well as employees.
LSD produces its own discs. Nobody in last years line up had the plastic portability the Eagle has.
Don't sleep on them.

 

[acrosley]

There has been quite an exodus at LSD. Sponsored players, as well as employees.
LSD produces its own discs. Nobody in last years line up had the plastic portability the Eagle has.
Don't sleep on them.

I'd be ok with that just so I can watch r/discgolf implode. Pretty sure Eagle is among the most popular players and Lonestar is the least favorite manufacturer by a country mile

 

[dehaas]

Purely coincidental people are talking about Eagle being the face of Streamline, which uses flight themed names for their discs.