Breaking Down Full Tilt Poker Sponsorship Deals
Published on February 1st, 2009 3:49 pm ESTOne of the questions that we hear the most often is: what do "red" pros receive in terms of compensation on Full Tilt Poker?
First off, the level of compensation depends on whether a player is a member of "Team Full Tilt", a "Full Tilt Pro" or a "friend" of Full Tilt.
I'm not 100% sure what a "friend" of Full Tilt receives - I think that this varies greatly depending on the player. For instance, the deal that Matt Hughes has with Full Tilt Poker is likely a great deal different than the deal that Jim McManus has with the site.
I can, however, tell you about the members of "Team Full Tilt" and the "red" Full Tilt Pros.
"Team Full Tilt" consists of names such as Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow and Patrik Antonius. As far as I am aware (although Full Tilt denies this), all 13 members of "Team Full Tilt" own stakes in Full Tilt and its associated companies.
Not only do these players enjoy the fact that they own stakes in a multi-billion dollar company, but they also receive distribution payments (profit-sharing). Given how much money Full Tilt is making every month, this is going to be a substantial amount of money. I've heard from various trusted sources that Phil Ivey, for one, makes over 7 figures a month just from his involvement with Full Tilt Poker.
The deal structures for the Full Tilt Pros are different. As far as I know, none of the "Full Tilt Pros" own any equity stakes in the company.
The standard deal for a Full Tilt Pro looks like this:
-100% rakeback
-$35 per hour for every hour that they play on the site
-bonuses if a player a) appears on TV b) appears on TV and makes a final table c) appears on TV and wins. Obviously a player must be wearing their Full Tilt gear in order to qualify
This is a pretty standard deal for a Full Tilt Pro. For a motivated player, this deal can bring in over $100k per month. Think about how much money you could make if you 6-tabled $5/$10 No Limit Hold'em while receiving 100% rakeback and earning $35 per hour.
As far as I know, members of "Team Full Tilt" also receive $35 per hour, as well as 100% rakeback.
All players are encouraged to drop down to play smaller stakes from time to time. This is the reason why you will sometimes see some well-known pros playing micro-stakes - it's not because they are broke.