While I think 7mil is a bit high, the theory that is stated here is quite plausible. It isn't like JH will get the 7M a year for as long as he is at Stars. THAT would be insane. The next genuinely marketable (poor Jamie G.) person who wins the ME will be the target of Stars, FTP, etc. They get the big signing bonus until the NEXT person comes along. And so on...and son on....

Agree.

Also, I complimented you on your avatar the other day but you had to change it as it was too big. What was the "tackle" picture of and do you have a link to it?


Thanks.

Based on my figures and analysis, seven million is actually low vs. the return for Hachem.

If you guys take a look at Pokerstar financial report from last year and the first two quarters of this year, the profits have risen ridiculously every quarter since they signed Hachem with the exception of one quarter (4th quarter 06).

The numbers are sick and even though Hachem can't be give all of the credit, he was arguably their top pro before Negreanu.

So if Hachem was signed for seven million, then how much did they sign Negreanu for? It would obviously be more unless Negreanu was unaware of the amount Hachem made.

"It would obviously be more unless Negreanu was unaware of the amount Hachem made."

Unlikely?

How come Mr Fossilman Never replies to such info requesting posts...we know he's an avid 2+2 reader...would be nice for him to shed some light on these burning questions that the enquiring minds wants/needs to know.....

P.S. I am aware of the grammatical errors in the above post...

Confidentiality agreement.

Negreanu hasn't just won the WSOPME, whilst people within the poker community could argue he has achieved more than JH, Joe Public doesnt know this, thus JH was/is far more marketble.

Also worth considering is that nowadays, PokerStars has far less competition for its business than pre the US banning online gambling. So I would assume they are less inclined to spend big $$$ on name players to attract new business.

Negreanu may be the most marketable player in the game right now, with Ivey and Hellmuth the competition. Educated guess says Daniel gets less than Joe did for his title year but as much or more than Joe now. If I actually knew the numbers though, I wouldn't make the comment.

On why Fossilman doesn't weigh in here, I don't see much incentive for him to tell people what he's making or how it compares to his colleagues.

I think Phil Hellmuth has a way higher Marketing Value than Daniel Negreanu. He is probably the best known poker player around the world + he's got all the records.

I also think Phil Ivey is not thát great for marketing, he might be the best cash game player in the world but for the big public this doesn't mather, WSOP and WPT are way bigger for the common public. I think somoebody like Chris Ferguson might be a lot better for marketing. I think Mike Matusow is really big also, simpley because they're recognizeble, and have more TV time.

You're kind of right, kind of not. Ivey stays quiet because he isn't interested in the celebrity angle. Interviewing him is like pulling teeth because he just doesn't want to be there. That said, despite his efforts, he's still amongst the five most recognizable players in the game, and amongst the poker community at large the most respected for his game (Chip Reese is the obvious alternative, but the poker world outside Vegas just doesn't know him all that well). If he wanted to, he'd be poker's biggest star.

"He could get a nine-figure deal (with Nike) right now if he wanted to commit to it." - This was said to me by an authority on such things during the 2006 series. I'd imagine the number has gone down with UIGEA.

On Hellmuth, he's probably better known than Daniel but brings some baggage with him. The 'brat' image isn't exactly what corporate america is looking for as representation goes. Aside from 2+2's love-to-hate relationship with him, Daniel's well liked, well respected and well-spoken. I'd bet good money that asked to choose between Phil and Daniel, non-poker companies would take Daniel in a second.

Actually, 'who is poker's most marketable player' might make for a good article.

I want to know what the donks like Rainkhan make.

Me too -- didn't Gobbo say it was 7-figures?
i find that hard to believe
(he might have said 6-figures...i forget)

Stevejpa as well as most sponsored pros make a lot less from sponsorships than they could playing poker.

I can't see any relevance to your statement above and why it means that 7 million would seem reasonable. Nike has over 16 billion in income and 7 billion in gross profit per year, you think Stars makes that much gross? Marginal revenue generated on a per custiomer basis is worthless when comparing two entirely different entities and then trying to use that measurement as a means of comparative compensation.

All that being true that doesn't meant that people aren't being overpaid every day all over the world. Wouldn't surprise me if he got 7 million plus perks, just that there is no way it was a great business decision if he did.

Jimbo

Ah, one problem here . . . since PokerStars is a privately held company and does not report financials, just how did you see this information? You would have to A) be or know an insider (say, working for PokerStars' finance department), in which case they should fire your or their ass; B) be an investor (which you obviously are not); or C) be pulling this all out of your rear.

Me, I'm betting pretty strongly on C).

I thought PS was traded in the UK.

stars makes like 3 mil a day. joe hachem got something around that 7 mil mark for sure...

Where in the world did you find quarterly financial statements for a privately owned Costa Rican company?

A thought..
Negreanu must have gotten some kind of comp. for closing down FCP client and moving all the players there to PS..

Hachem's deal was widely discussed at the time. The figures I remember are 10mil for 10 years.

Nope, it's privately held. There were some rumours in the press a year or so ago (pre-UIGEA) that they were looking to go public, but that's all.

Remember last year Full Tilt had a deal going on where if you won a seat in the main event through a satellite on FTP and then went on to win the main event you would get an extra $10 million from FTP? Doesn't this make the the $7 million dollar Hachem deal seem a little more believable?

The 10 million was for a 10 year deal.

I thought I saw 250k/year somewhere for the newer members of team pokerstars

$250.00 and a fish tank?