MVP, I think trilogy already dumped their money and they need another name besides JC, even tho Ravens looked solid towards the end of the season. Discraft already has a ton of Talent
Scott Stokley might have the new trend: get sponsored per MOLD from several companies. He has the name to do it though. Swanky content as always. Continue.
this is the way Seriously though, disc/slot/range sponsorships are the future. Like in golf, where players may be sponsored by a putter specialist, wedge specialist, and then an entire bag.
I think Scott’s in a pretty unique spot being a living legend. Idk if those companies would do those same “per mold” deals for many other players. Just conjecture though!
Innova seems to have this "you're lucky to be here" mentality with their players and I think they're going to keep losing players to other manufacturers like Discraft and DD who have more of a "we're happy to have you here, let's build your brand together" attitude. After seeing how much success Paul has had with Discraft with making him new custom molds, I'm sure Ricky tried to do that with Innova and they told him to kick rocks.
@@thebeasters They Do have a bunch of top level Tournaments they sponsor Like USDGC or the women's variant of similar thing. Not to mention they sponsor some of the oldest events in the sport too like the one event in Huntington Beach once on the Pro Tour or National Tour, I forget the name but they have sponsored that event since the beginning since it was in the Innova area of California.
The players ARE luucky to be there. Look at the history, the stats, etc.. Other companies are bending over backwards to sign folks at risk of financial trouble. The revenue vs salary level is insane for some of these companies. They taking huge risks, and Innova simply doesn't have to take those risks. They don't see the players as worth what they are being paid by other companies. As the giant in the industry, I trust they have done their research. Also, they are more in the business of signing new players that are about to emerge as the next stars, not overpaying for the ones that are already at the top of the game. Innova is fine lol.
When I started over 20 years ago, I played only with Innova. For whatever reason, Innova has always felt better in my hand than other brands. I throw 90% Innova still to this day. Paul or Ricky leaving won't change that for me. I couldn't care less if a player's name is on a disc. Innova's player acquisition strategy is going to be different from other brands because you have players like me who have grown up with them and won't change. While this may eventually backfire on them, we are not privy to a lot of behind the scenes information, so we don't really have the clarity to have a strong opinion either way.
For every Innova loyal veteran like yourself there are 5 new players that are throwing Discraft, Discmania, MVP, Kastaplast, etc. In two more years, there may be another 5 new players. Innova might keep their same piece of the pie, but the pie is getting bigger. If another brand becomes the defacto standard, Innova will lose contracts with Wal-Mart, Dick's, etc.
Obviously you have brand loyalty so no companies would put an ounce of effort into making someone like you switch. It is the new players they are trying to capture. When you see pros playing with innova, discraft, and now DD you know that the equipment is up to the task. Nice knowing that it isn't the quality of the disc that is holding you back from getting better. If no pros were throwing innova they would be at risk of being thought of as a dicks/walmart low quality product by someone just starting.
Innova is in trouble if consumers say, "Wow, Ricky left, so I better stop throwing Innova." Pro player endorsements might be how I have been introduced to some discs, but it isn't what keeps me throwing the ones that are working for me.
It's not the existing players, it's new players -- you should realize that by your own statement. That said, even as an experienced player the fact that GG used to throw prodigy before he eventually ended up with Innova is what led me to try their brand and I still use their putters (PA3) as every other one I try feels too "deep" in my hand. So... a bit of both but definitely my first point.
I think this really comes down to business models. Innova would probably say that it's disc sales and partnership with places like Walmart are doing more to spread the game then any single player and probably making them more money. I would say not signing players to bigger contracts is short sighted because look around at all major sports, personalities are what draws in fans. Kids today are lebron fans not laker fans.
"Kids today are Lebron fans not Lakers fans". I'm not sure the move towards devotion to entitled celebrities and away from loyalty to a team has been an improvement in our culture.
i agree with andrew, a huge majority of lakers fans are going to be lakers fans regardless if lebron plays for them or not. This comment was not a very good comparison to disc golf contracts either.
But I know a person under 25 who has been a Laker Fan his whole life, not a Lebron Fan and like me was mad the person came, a person who leaves the team every time the team he is on starts to have a slightly bad season like missing the playoffs by only a few games.
Kinda wrong to say Innova has "become" a dominant force when they were the only force for a long time, being the originators and all. Disc Golf might not even exist as we know it, if not for Dave Dunipace cutting up plastic frisbees and welding parts together like Dr. Frankenstein in his living room to make new prototypes and inventing a ton of disc golf discs. The discs, baskets, the courses, the first player sponsorships, everything pretty much started around Dave and Innova, so of course they are have been a dominant force.
Not quite the originators as Desteny Disc later the original Dynamic Discs was the first to make Disc Golf specific discs that were lids up to the mid 1990's before the company got ban for selling some discs too stiff with PDGA name and another PDGA approved mold that had on the over 190 gram discs weight size some 200 even up to 300 gram discs the PDGA approved on the mold. Desteny Discs/Dynamic Discs that got the company ban for refusing to fix these two issues in the 1990's, but Innova was the first to make modern beveled discs.
DGA are the actual originators of Disc Golf, at least commercially. That's why they get to have they name "Disc Golf Association", they manufactured the first discs, they manufactured the first baskets, and they installed the first official disc golf course in California. But Champion (later Innova) was the second disc manufacturer, and early on they did a lot to expand the sport. DGA was not managed nearly as well, and made some rather poor decisions in relation to the community at the time, and so was relegated to the sidelines as Innova became the dominant force in Disc Golf. Innova's position seems really weird right now. They're still far and away the #1 in disc sales, but I can't really tell if they are actually losing any market share to their competitors. Anecdotally they seem to be, as I've been playing for 20 years and I see and hear way, way more non-Innova talk than Innova talk over the last 5 years or so than ever before. However, what scant hard numbers I can find suggest Innova has been holding steady at 30-40% of the market with no signs of slipping. These figures are mostly from individual retailers releasing sales figures, so in no way are they representative of the market as a whole. So if all of these moves by other companies isn't costing Innova any sales, is it really any surprise they treat their players like dogshit? Their players don't seem to be a driving force behind Innova sales, unlike Discraft or Discmania or Prodigy.
My cousin said they're like the Disney of DG. Like they're on everything and marketing everything and greedy. They've lost touch with players and don't need them.
From my experience people don't buy innova because of their team. Its the most well known brand and has the reviews to back it. Seems since the sports grown its all about money drama and rumours. Where did the freedom of throwing plastic in the woods go?
I believe that you are correct. Disc Golf is NOT a team sport. These are manufacturer sponsorships that are purely dictated by potential impact on disc sales. DD not only has to recoup the $1M in salary, they also have all of the other support costs associated with the contract (marketing, prototype and design, expenses). I am curious of the true revenue is with these signings.
Yep as of the 2015 and later boosts it has become a drama and rumors thing, mainly with how much that Paul Got when he joined Discraft after being on Innova for years as a Dedicated Innova player.
I don't think Innova didn't pay Ricky because they didn't think he was worth it but rather that Innova is betting that the current spike in growth of the sport levels out over the next few years. There are lots of moving pieces in order to keep disc golf expanding as a sport. There have been many spikes of interest/growth in the past which eventually waned. I don't think Innova is trying to over commit themselves when things look good that will end up hurting them if things go bad. Also what disc besides a Pig did Ricky's name really help sell? Which is why Ricky probably wanted a custom disc line but because Innova is already struggling to print discs for themselves and several other companies they probably told Ricky 'no' at this point.
I dunno - I heard that theory put first by foundation disc golf. You really think innova had a better measure of the market in this insurmountable year? They have no more metrics then other brands. Sure - with Covid we are in an “everything bubble” but the growth of disc golf in my argument could really be from things like the establishment of quality media and the proliferation of the sport having a really low barrier of entry. I don’t think innova is the chess master in this situation at all.
@@creatorTWin I don't think Innova is clairvoyant either. What Ricky wanted just didn't fit their current business plan. I agree much of the growth of the sport has been from quality media coverage during the pandemic but for these million dollar deals and future major deals to make sense they still need better media coverage. Channels like Jomez are great but they are post production only. The DGN is the only place for live coverage and it can be total trash sometimes like during the USDGC. But then the problem becomes that disc golf is competing with many other sports on Sundays. Disc golf is in kind of weird spot. Which makes the continued expansion of the sport tricky.
Wasn't the pig his only tour series disc? And he single-handedly put that mold on the map. So to ask what other molds he helped sell a lot of is kind of missing the point. They were arguing that he should have his own lineup of discs. If they sold anywhere close to what he caused for the pig then the lineup decision would have been a huge success.
@@pres13vt No. Ricky has had other tour series discs and signature discs like the Sockibomb/Raptor Destroyers and the Invictus. The Pig is a unique disc. I'm talking about regular discs like the Invictus which is a faster Firebird. I didn't see people putting down their Firebirds for an Invictus because Ricky was throwing one? The Invictus is a new disc launched in 2020 not one that's been around for more than a decade(like the Pig) that never really sold until Ricky bagged it. The Invictus was pretty much a Ricky disc. I didn't see anybody but Ricky throwing it. I never said Ricky shouldn't have his own line of discs. I question it because Innova already has more molds than the other companies. Do they really need more molds? Not really.
@@donkarnage6032 Did he actually throw the Invictus though? I don't recall that being mentioned in his last "in the bag" video and definitely don't recall it being mentioned in the jomez coverage from last season. Very different than the pig which he threw nearly every hole. And his destroyer was just a stamp so that doesn't really count. And that was such a popular disc already you can't expect it to change much.
Innova still out sells every other disc manufacturer by a wide margin. I got this information from someone who has sold disc golf discs for more than 35 years. My guess is the reason Discraft, and DD are willing to pay the pros so much is they are trying to close that gap. When Jim Kenner started Discraft he was more of a copier of existing discs. The founder of Innova (Dave Dunipace) was so far ahead of Discraft because he could design discs himself (he was an innova-tor). Now they are both millionaires.
Innova is a conundrum right now. On one hand they want to grow the sport by offering way too many beginner molds and catering to the new player but in the other hand they don’t realize that beginners, who tend to be younger people, are all over social media and see professional players and study their form and what discs they throw. It’s almost as if Innova’s target audience is someone walking through Walmart and happens to see a disc golf disc and wonders what it is and buys a starter pack for fun. It’s kind of ironic that innova is failing to innovate.
Problem is a Number of the US molds under an 8 speed were made when very few players used a forehand and thus needed US fly to the left for certain holes for right hand players. 8 speed disc was first made in 1999 so the need for less US was not as big of an issue since players had started using forehand more and more after 199, so in this case the US molds were not made for pros having a need for discs to fly left for right hand players but for beginners up to 9 speed or later when faster than 10 speed was out, these discs were made for the long time slower arm speed players that can use a faster disc and get the speed for 11 or 12 speed but can't get such an OS disc like a Destroyer to get its full distance potential due to being more OS the Destroyer or other OS disc from Innova needs more speed to get the distance.
How many players does innova have under contract and or sponser? How much money in total are they spending on players? How much money are they spending on players vs other companies? These are questions to consider when we discuss players leaving innova because they can get paid more else wear. I’m happy that companies are paying top players more! How much are they paying non top pro players? I hope the the non “top” touring pros are getting paid more as well? When I heard about these contracts that pay 1mill a year I thought wow, cool. Then I thought maybe the money spent on that 1 million dollar contract a year would have been better of being used to play 10 players 100,000 each or 20 players 50,000 each. And when it comes to them selling disks ; for me I’m not going to be buying discs that most top pro players use because I don’t have the same arm speed as they do and hands are smaller😀 Thanks for the video guys!!!
Yeah I agree that Innova is rather banking on the idea that there will be a fresh talent of new players on the pro tour, which comes with a cost of their best players leaving to other contracts. Innova has grown the sport in a major way as we know it today and I am confident that they will still be successful in the future as a brand.
Great read on what's going on guys. I was wondering what was going on with all these players leaving Innova. Y'all nailed it. These high caliber players (really every player) should feel valued, not just a tool.
I think Innova sales will drop just because there are so many other companies producing quality discs. I started with them because that is most of what my shop offered 13 years ago. Part of the fun is trying new discs. If you have played years and years, you have tried most of the Innova lineup
@@reidausband9392 right but they still sell a ton of disc because that giant team is out there spreading the love at local grassroots level. Clinics and smaller tournaments
@@reidausband9392 Agree, but Nate, Calvin, Kolling etc are high profiles representing the most popular discs like Firebird, Destroyer etc. But they must be careful. Things are happening fast. Very fast right now.
@@gnomeingitup yep who is better and has more potential than Kona. Plus we haven't seen where Cat or Chris are going to land. If they both end up at Innova they might be in a better spot
It will be interesting to see what happens with Innova. It is crazy to see all the moves. I think Innova will be okay in the short run, but 10-20 years down the road, who knows? It’s fun to see all the smaller companies growing.
I like seeing these other manufacturers make moves. Top dogs don't stay top dogs unless they respond to competition. The only thing that I think most other manufacturers are missing in terms of disc selection is a competitor too the Wraith. Everyone has a Destroyer type disc, but most people with Destroyers in their bags should be throwing Wraiths. Lat64 has the Grace out now, which is a fantastic disc, but it doesn't quite do what they Wraith will do for an intermediate level player.
I just started to get serious about disc golf last year and a half. Watched a ton of tournaments and enjoy the community. But as in all things in life drama and politics seem to be engrained in everything.
Innova could have ZERO PROS and still be the number 1 disc golf company. They DON’T NEED pros at all to sell their discs. Innova also has SO MANY MORE discs than any other company, Discraft and Dynamic have Paul and Ricky as consultants for their own lines of discs because they NEED the extra discs to fill slots they have empty that Innova already has discs for.
When the pandemic started. And everything came to a hault. Greg barsby and philo, were on barsby vision.... both saying innova was doing nothing for the players.
Firstly, I think it's great that these players are getting big deals. I'm happy for anyone who can make life-changing money doing something they love. With that said, in 20+ years of playing disc golf, I have never made a disc decision based on a pro's association with either the brand or the mold. The percentage of disc golf players who follow the pro tour is very small. Innova knows this and doesn't see big money contracts for top players as a good return on investment.
It’s interesting because Innova lost Paul In 2018 and imo I feel that they have the data to support that maybe a player like Rick isn’t worth that contract to them. However he is for a brand like Dynamic who needs player representation. Innova is becoming more centric on their deals with Dicks Walmart and moving the most plastic, we’ll see if that’s the case in 5-10 years.
That’s an excellent point. Realistically Innova is selling a large share of their discs to people who might not even know professional disc golf exists, a big investment in a player might not be worth it.
@@SwankyDiscGolf Not to mention Innova feels that Sponsoring Tournaments is the way to go with the USGDC and the Womens version of the same thing. Innova is the sponsor for the Huntington Beach event in California, one of the oldest PDGA events that is still running and was a Pro Tour or National Tour event at one point before loosing it somehow to a bigger event that fit the needs of the touring pro better.
Interesting to look at this 2 years later and see that while Innova didn't regress, Dynamic Discs finds itself toward the bottom of the totem pole. Most of the signings you mentioned at the beginning of the video were busts.
It is so true what y’all are saying. I use to throw innova but I switched not to long ago to trilogy. Ricky is worth every penny he signed for. His personality and skills speaks volumes.
Pretty sure they are fine. Die hard innova players aren’t going to stop throwing certain molds. Also, I just saw Hailey King signed for innova. Seems like a good pick up.
Is Innovas pro team in trouble? Maybe but they still one, if not the largest professional roster. They have always focused on lower tier pros. Look at their Air Force team. Innova has done more for the sport than any other manufacturer. Innova is massively involved on the local level with local pros running clinics and doing tournaments. They don’t really have as good of a online presence as dynamic but not sure that is needed. The MPO is really just a small portion of the pie, 75+% of the people out there playing do not follow or care about who is on whatever team. Innova sales didn’t drop with paul leaving and they won’t with rickys departure. Good for Dynamic for finally building a pro team.
So here’s the problem old disc golfers knows about innova and how great they are . But new players coming in don’t . Pros influence new player that come into the sport . It’s kind of like when converse had the market share on basketball shoes. And think Nike came in and changed the game . And you can argue that player like Nate and jerm are more associated with Joemez lately.
@@kbone2958 That's a fair assessment. I guess we will have to see how it plays out. I love following the tour and I definitely have favorite players and some encourage me to try different discs but for the most part what's in their bag doesn't impact what's in mine. I guess its cool that it is influencing the new players, weather that is good or bad I guess that remains to be seen. good chat.
@@cglasford1 ya so I’m new into the game right had no idea about disc golf. I got to disc golf because of Brodie smith (for better or worse lol) so I was into discraft then found Paul . So at first my bag was all Discraft.
@@kbone2958 that’s awesome! Nothing wrong with that or discraft. All the brands these days are solid for the most part. Brodie might not be the best pro but he’s doing great things for the sport with his social media presence and ultimate pull through
@@cglasford1 ya I agree but some people just don’t like him for some reason. Ya I’m not all discraft anymore I started to branch out a lot more company’s shoot my putter is the mint disc bullet one of the best putter to me and hardly anyone know about it.
The only discs I can buy in store within 50 miles are at Big5, Sportsman's Warehouse, Walmart etc. All Innova at each store. Innova is fine and will be for as long as that is the case.
If Calvin leaves next - this would show you that Innova has taken a different strategic approach to everyone else’s. They are 5 steps ahead of everyone else
As a new disc golfer who has just caught on during the big BOOM of the past year or two....... Innova is boring as hell. I dont know very many people in my DGC that have started playing around the same time as myself that have an Innova heavy bag. They are still the big dogs on the block and the preferred brand of more veteran disc golfers, but the new people coming into the sport dont find them exciting or interesting.
Lots of folks commenting that their longtime brand loyalty trumps any player's product endorsement and I agree-- I've been playing since most shops only carried Innova and Lightning (2007) and still have an Innova-heavy bag... but with the sport growing like it is, i think Innova could lose a lot of ground fast if they don't get with the program. i do think it bears mentioning that because of their status as the DG company with the most well-laid foundation, they may be consciously using their market share advantage to lay some groundwork in private and be ready to jump right back in the mix in 2023-- there must be PLENTY of young teens on track to blow all the current pros out of the water in the next few years and Innova has the market share to play the long game... Popcorn emoji for the next couple years!!!
This is a serious question, I'm not trolling. Why does it matter who signs with whom? Innova still has the biggest market share, they're worth the most money, they have the most molds, and they arguably have the best molds. People are still going to buy their discs regardless of whether they have a particular pros name on them. There is no constructors championship and so I guess, aside from a few hardcore fanbois that would buy plastic because of the name on it instead of the mold of the disc, I honestly don't see why any of this shit matters aside from people wanting to add drama and suspense where there previously was none. Please explain.
We’re really talking long term. As mentioned in the video Innova as a company is in no sort of trouble. They’re selling a large share of their discs to people who don’t even know professional disc golf exists. But If the future of the sport continues on its current trajectory that can change. Not to mention players may not stop buying Innova but players will buy Ricky wysocki discs wherever he goes. It’s more of a bonus but players like Ricky, McBeth, or Sextion can be huge money makers. Thanks for the feedback 👍
Signing big names lends itself to credibility. Everyone knows innova is the shit so it’s not so important right now, but if they keep pushing discs hard in Walmart and losing pro players they might eventually be viewed as cheap and unprofessional.
@@WillEnj0y I dunno man, I understand where you're coming from, but unless their plastic actually becomes garbage, it's gonna be pretty hard for them to be viewed as trash. There really should be a constructors or something.
@@CommonSenseCriticism they do have a long standing reputation. It would take many many years of neglecting the pro scene to change public opinion. I’m talking decades.
It is no wonder when on the course you ask a player what they are throwing...and after they tell you, it is usually followed with "Its like a broke in (insert Innova disc here).
I don’t know the numbers but I do wonder if more discs are bought after watching a you Tube video on a disc review rather than what discs does a pro throw?
If a company thinks people will buy discs based on what they need then you don’t have to spend a lot of money on pros but if you think that people spend money because they get excited about a particular player who plays for a particular company and therefore buys their brand then it makes sense to spend money on pros
Who do you think pays these $1M salaries - the disc buying public. I stopped bagging Discraft drivers cos I could replace a Wraith for $15 instead of $30 for a Paul McBeth Hades. If there's a Innova mold that will fill the slot, I always go Innova.
Interesting to see how this is playing out now in 2023. Calvin doing well and resigned and Ricky not playing much. Ricky isn’t out by any means, but he is not up to par with his health and I wonder how problematic it will be in the rest of the year, if it will be. Time will tell.
Not sure I'd call big jerm a "big three" at this point. Yes he might win some events and tournaments this year, but I think he's past his prime unless he decides to make some big changes. And when you say Paul and big jerm, I don't think anybody thinks "innova"... I think people think "jomez". So in my eyes, Calvin is the only innova star right now.
That’s what I think too. That Koling decided a while back to go in with Jomez. And I’m sure he’s making good money doing that and he still has a sponsorship.
Interesting watching this vid 10 months later, after the '22 season is behind us. I can definitely see what you guys are saying. At the same time, Calvin just re-upped for 5 years, Blomroos had a very solid season, AB is going big and I think is going to be an epic player soon, Ohn had a great season, Barsby and GG are still in there. And then you've got some really promising up and comers, like Kat Mertsch, Maria Oliva, Brad Williams.... I wouldn't count Innova out yet, by any means.
Wow ... you guys are SO WRONG. Innova is definitely NOT in trouble. They are still number 1 in disc sales and promotion and will continue to be for years to come. Every other company is still chasing Innova and doing whatever the can to create interest in their products. It's a typical big brother / little brother scenario. Little brother is creating spectacles of themselves just to try to grab some attention from big brother/Innova. It's a lot like the content of this video. Maybe if we push some really controversial content or discussion, we'll get more views and subscribers. You are the little brother chasing other channels that get way more views. Maybe the question should be ... "Is Swanky Disc Golf in trouble?"
If there is 1 disc golf company that knows something that the rest doesn’t it’s Innova. They are also one of the only brands that can consistently sell their inventory to big stores like Dicks, that brings in a lot more money than most people give it credit for.
When it comes to disk sell so you have to ask yourself; are more discs sold to beginners and recreational players or to pro players and people who would like to be pros? A lot of people are going to buy discs based on price,availability and how will they perform for them and not if a pro throws them.
I think having a pro’s name behind a disc helps though. I throw MVP, and after seeing JC crush a Volt a few times, I started thinking about picking one up for myself. After I got to throw a friend’s Volt, I decided I needed one in my bag. Was it all because of JC? No, but his tournament footage definitely contributed.
The Issue is Plastic problems that meant that some molds are made in Limited quantity/temporarily stopped in production. Innova is not doing what others did and looking for Close enough plastic to the stuff they used already like what Discraft has done with the ESP plastic and the Titanium plastic and is looking to others for the Z and X but had a new version of the Soft X. It was so bad that Discmania made near clones of its molds having to retest the retooled molds and is making the almost Innova molds themselves now with the same name as with the old mold then, Innova is using the full name of the molds for its discs of the old molds, but only the top sellers of the Discmanina made molds due to the plastic issues. If Innova can't get its plastic issues sorted out then I feel current Innova Discs are history as they run out of plastic, having to become a bag and basket company only.
It feels like Innova treats their current players like a business, but other companies seem to be treating them like a family. I understand DD and other companies are also a business, but I can see it feeling more like a mutually respecting relationship as both parties are being benefitted. Innovas seems from what we've seen a bit more one sided, and time will tell if their current decisions will bite them in the future.
Been reading a lot of the comments on Ricky moving to Dynamic disc have not read any comments saying they're throwing out there and Innova disc and now buying Dynamic Discs all I read is dynamic disc throwers who never went to Innova with Ricky, saying welcome home so Ricky.
Innova is a staple in the disc golf market. They were one of the original companies and will always be around. They'll lose some market space, but will always be up at the top!
Innova has also manufactured discs for other companies (discmania and infinite) I think infinities play will ultimately be manufacturing their own discs at some point and discmania has already moved away from manufacturing discs with them too. That’s a lot of money that is not coming in from indirect sales.
I buy particular disc's to support players I like regardless of manufacturer.... beyond that, Teebirds/Roadrunners/DX Rocs/Rhinos will allllways be in my bag
I don’t give a rats behind on pro players sponsorships, I throw what feels good to me and since 1985 that means I’m still throwing Innova (and yes, I’ve tried other brands).
Just started playing a couple months ago, I just learned innova is one of the big brand. I thought they were one of the lesser brands; considering I see them all over Walmart etc
As long as innova is the only disc company in big box stores, they will be fine, but as soon as Dicks and Wal Mart start carrying other brands they will certainly be in trouble. They are the starter company for disc golfer. The Top Flight of disc golf where Discraft would be Titleist.
Innova is smart not to overreact to this short term spike in sales. Disc golf is experiencing a bubble. There is no money going into new courses you can even find good pro shops without driving for an hour or going to a smoke shop. The players have to take advantage of these contracts now because when the bubble bursts Innova will be the only game in town.
It is kind of dumb to me that people think a company's success is defined by who they sponsor. They will capture an up and coming star before they are too expensive, like they always do. They are doing things better than any other company. Other companies are putting themselves in financial risk based on a couple years of high growth, and overpaying for players who have already won majors and established their value. Innova is simply better at the business side of disc golf.
Innova is more then fine, they are going where the most money is made. So they have a bottom line and the pros get cut off when they get to be expensive.
The tour starts in Las Vegas in February. Dickerson signed with discraft and that was pretty much the last big name they could pick up. I haven't heard anything about Nikko locastro signing anywhere yet but I don't see many companies jumping to pick him up either.
This video only exists because Ricky left his contact early. For all we know, there could be other big names on the market considering Innova even though their current contacts aren't up. These announcements are made after several weeks of things happening behind the scenes that we never know about. Who knows what may be in the works?
Dynamic certainly flexed their muscles this year. Especially with Ricky's line of discs, everyone is going to want to get their hands on what Ricky creates. "grow the sport" is what we say to get people involved and interested. These manufacturers grow the sport by not by sitting on their hands, but promoting the individuals who do the work! Discmania needs to pick up a few more bug name players I feel like if they want to keep up
@@josephmcgowan4436 I have one DD disc in my bag and for whatever reason, that's the only one I've ever liked. Other than that I'm just not impressed. I don't like the naming scheme and the plastic just doesn't fly as well for me as any/every other brand.
If Innova would to sign Katrina Allen, after Hailey King, would that change your option about their future with such a strong dynamic FPO field? Sound like they are still trying to grow the sport.
It was just a matter of time with all of these other companies popping up over the last 5-10 years. The shame in it all is the everyone knows that Innova can easily pay these players what Dynamic, Discraft, etc.
Great question is how did Barsby win the World Championship and not be able to travel full time after? It feels like the Legends of the game don't want to share the wealth with the new gen
They will sell a lot of plastic still, but they are definitely being challenged if DD and Disccraft starts getting sold in more chain stores. They definitely need to evolve
Is Innova in trouble? No. They make the most money BY FAR and their deals with Walmart, Dicks, etc mean they are locked in to the beginner disc golf market. As the sport explodes with growth, they are only going to make more money. They have 3 of the 5 top FPO players in the world as well.
Idk why bc I don't really watch pros or go off what I watch I but what is local and what I'm comfortable with I love innova my main brand and yes I have other disc I have dynamic disc like them I putt with dynamic disc innova will always be my brand
right now, it seems like disc companies are sponsoring most top pros...i see corporate sponsorship monies taking that role in the future as the game explodes in popularity...who will take disc golf that next level??
