Who's breaking the bank next?
Updated: Apr 26, 2021
Paul McBeth reset the market for the disc golf industry with his $10M, 10 year extension with Discraft. If you are a fan of any other sport this may not seem like a crazy amount of money, but for one sponsorship deal in disc golf it is groundbreaking.
Paul is in a league of his own, he has been at the top of the game for almost a decade and has been a fan favorite throughout. He’s got a great social media following and YouTube account. Also, his Discraft discs sell instantaneously. It was a no brainer to extend his contract no matter the pay.
But, we believe the sport is at the very beginning of its upward trajectory. The production quality and competitiveness are through the roof and are getting better every year. The more popular it becomes the more money it brings in and can allocate to players. So, this begs the question, who’s on deck for the next big pay day?
I asked our Instagram followers and we heard some interesting takes so we are going to look at Ricky Wysocki, Calvin Heimburg, Kevin Jones and Eagle McMahon.
So, lets break them down by categories. Performance. Career Trajectory. Social Media. We will rate each player out of 10 for each category.
Ricky Wysocki
Performance 10/10
Paul McBeth has been the “#1” disc golfer in the past decade, but its pretty damn hard to not at least consider Ricky. He is a 2-time World Champ and has 107 career wins. AND he’s on a different level this 2021 season, 10 years into his career.
Career Trajectory 9/10
Ricky is also only 27 years old. For reference, Paul is 30 and still at the top of his game. We do believe the sport is about to blow up with younger kids and talent coming in to the sport, the next 5-10 years will be insane but right now Ricky has the potential to be a top 5 player for the next 5 years.
Social Media 6/10
This is where Ricky struggles in our opinion. The only reason we use social media as a factor is because these contracts are all about selling discs and the brand, the larger the audience you attract the more valuable you are. It’s a tough realization but it’s a necessary evil. He has been working on his YouTube page which we believe is the most valuable asset, if he is able to transition his greatness to followers his rating will move up quickly for us.
Overall: 8.33
Calvin Heimburg
Performance 9/10
Calvin is Mr. consistent and the 2020 MPO Player of the Year. He somehow finds a way to always finish in the top 10. He’s got a cannon for an arm and when he’s hitting his putts he is dominant.
Career Trajectory 10/10
Calvin is only 24 years old. He is already dominant. 10/10 that is all you can say. It will be fun to watch his career take shape the next few seasons.
Social Media 3/10
This is a similar struggle as Ricky. He rarely uses any form of social media and doesn’t have a twitter page or a YouTube page. However, he could kill on Youtube. If anybody watches the GK Pro Skins matches, Calvin has a hysterical personality and could be a fan favorite if he regularly uploaded.
Overall: 7.33
Kevin Jones
Performance 8/10
Kevin has the potential to be a top player but struggles to remain consistent. This season hasn't started out too well for him but he won the DGPT Championship last season that aired on ESPN. Once he limits his mistakes he will be a top contender every tournament.
Career Trajectory 9/10
Like Calvin, Kevin is only 24. He is young, energetic and talented. If he keeps on his current trajectory he will be top 5 in the DGPT standings for a long time. We will see if he sticks with Prodigy or jumps to a different sponsor when his contract is up.
Social Media 7/10
Kevin doesn't use traditional social media all that much even thought he has a good amount of followers but he recently started a YouTube account that is doing great. If he keeps that up it'll be fun to watch his popularity grow.
Overall: 8
Eagle McMahon
Performance 8/10
Eagle has a uniquely talented skill set with a combination of Simon Lizotte's crazy lines and a more consistent and laid back approach. Similarly to Kevin, Eagle has his ups and downs, but when he is hot, he is really, really good. He is young and has a lot of tournaments ahead of him, this rating could increase quickly if he remains consistent.
Career Trajectory 10/10
He is only 23 and on the verge of dominance. He will be in contention for best player in the sport for the next decade. It'll be interesting to see if he stays with Discmania after his contract expires.
Social Media 8/10
Active on all social media including YouTube. For some reason this is rare in disc golf but Eagle understands the importance of connecting with fans. His YouTube page is popular which is incredibly important.
Overall: 8.66
By these estimations it looks like Eagle will be the next player to break the bank. Let us know what you think and we will keep you updated on contract extensions and sponsorship contracts.
- Mainstream Disc Golf
Comments