All about dart player sponsorship
Dart sponsorship is a question I've been asked a few times to write about. I'd like to break this blog up into 4 parts, what players can expect from a brand sponsor, the industry in general, how/why past and present Loxley players were signed and finally what the future holds for Loxley.
What to expect from a brand sponsorship
As you would expect there's a massive difference between the contracts of a world champion and a young player starting out. Different brands will also have very different ways of working and what they offer. I've seen player contracts from a big brand with just a few sentences basically written on a napkin whilst I've seen other contracts 6 or 7 pages long with tonnes of legal mumbo jumbo. And there's everything in between these two extremes.
But what can different players expect? Here's a rough guide.
Are you forced to use a dart you might not like?
This depends on the brand/contract, a lot will let you use whatever you are comfortable with and then make prototypes for you or full production darts, however there are brands that hand over a dart and say use this or contractually force you to use their material (darts, flights, stems) even if you prefer something else. This is becoming less common these days though thankfully but it still exists.
Starter contracts
A player just starting out but showing some promise who gets given a chance might expect to get an equipment deal. This could involve a couple of sets of darts from the brands range, some flights, stems, maybe a board and a case. Dart shirts are often not included in a contract and stickers/patches may be provided for the players to place on their own shirts.
Up till a few years ago there were a lot of brand new tour card holders who would have a contract similar to this with the contracts lasting 2 years and not being extended if the players didn't retain their card after 2 years.
Some players in this category may have prototype darts made for them.
The next step up would be a bit more equipment and maybe have your custom darts made and released but other than that still no financial incentives.
Shop credits
Another type of contract is where players get a budget each year which they can use to buy their own equipment from the brands own shop. So the budget could be 250, 500, even a few grand per year but this has to be spent on their products. Always read the fine print.
Flat fees and commissions
Financial incentives are there for the bigger players, the £ numbers have over the past few years increased as well as the pool of players gaining these incentives. Yearly fees can range from 500 pounds up to 25 grand with certain players probably earning a whole lot more than that. There's no set formula on who would earn what and it boils down to supply and demand, thanks to the higher profile of darts now, the demand for players has sky rocketed whilst the supply has remained relatively stable. Obviously the supply of tour card holders remains at 128 however the higher profile of the game and the addition of things like Modus has seen non tour card holders come into the paid supply pool.
Commissions for players can be a set fee or percentage per set of their darts or shirts or even flights sold by the brand.
Performance bonuses
It's very common to have performance bonuses, for gaining tour cards, winning Development or Challenge Tour events, winning pro tours, qualifying for TV tournaments, winning tv tournaments and even having flat fee raises (or drops) triggered by world rankings.
Obligations
Depending on the contract or brand there can be various obligations. Obvious ones would be wearing the brand logo on streams, tv and at exhibitions. Other obligations could be having to be available for particular events by the brand or just having to mention the brand on social media, or sharing the brands posts.
Player support
Brands sometimes send representatives to events to morally support players or do the beer run for them so the players can play or practice freely. Some brands offer some form of coaching or technical analysis as well.
Player sponsorship in the darts industry and brand strategy
I've only been in and around the pro darts scene since 2019 (a year before Loxley was a twinkle in my eye) but the whole landscape has changed so much in that short time already.
Back in 2020 (basically up till the Luke Littler effect) there would be a fair amount of non sponsored players on the Pro Tour and in the top echelons of the Dev and Challenge tours. That a brand that didn't exist yet could sign Ryan Searle and Matthew Edgar says it all.
Fast forward a few years and the brands have been waging wars trying to sign players. Off the top of my head I can only think of one or two of the 128 tour card holders without a darts brand sponsor.
The sponsorship deals (financial rewards) players have been getting has also exploded. This has been great news for tour card holders and for up and comers. For all the sacrifices dart players make it's great to see this change - now let's see if the PDC decide to share more of their massive bounty to the players outside the top tier...
The biggest company in darts
You probably think Target are the biggest company in darts or possibly Nodor (Red Dragon/Winmau). I'm not sure which of these two are the numbers 2 and 3 right now as the companies house filings are not fully up to date. I'd guess Nodor is still number 2 with Target catching up fast. But the biggest company in darts is actually a Dutch International mega corporation that has Goat/xQmax amongst their vast portfolio. Their strategy involves not sponsoring any players at all.
I wouldn't want to argue with them, that is a corporation that clearly knows how business works and I think there's room in the darts market for plenty of different strategies.
Academies and pulling power
It seems Nodor and Target have been investing heavily in darts academies and having a bit of a battle there. They have first pick of a lot of the up and coming talent and there's some serious talent emerging - a few definite Littler rivals of the future already.
Speaking of which Target have clearly been extremely ambitious during their (relatively) short lifespan with snapping up rival brands' best players as well as identifying and backing young players like Bennett and Littler. They also have such a big brand name now that they will be top of most players wish lists.
The tour card rush / Q school
Brands will obviously have representatives at Q school and there's always a rush to try and talk to the tour card winners with the likes of Unicorn recently snapping up a lot of UK card winners whilst in Germany Bulls sign a lot of fresh European card holders. Bulls DE also have a big advantage in signing German players which suits their business model very well having massive distribution in the country, not just in darts specific shops.
Geographical niche
Here in Holland there's Bulls NL who apart from having a good roster of Dutch players, also place a lot of focus on targeting the smaller darts playing countries. Landing the top players in these countries is strategically sound for their distribution. Chinese brand One80 also seem to operate in this geo niche space.
Shot are in a similar boat but on the other side of the world with a lot of home grown New Zealand talent as well as having a big head start on Australian players. They have also placed a lot of focus on America and are a dominant force there. Recently of course they went all out to sign Michael Smith as a flagship to try and break into Europe and the UK. They even sent a full time representative (Joey) over to the UK for a couple of years. Side note: Joey actually was the very first person I spoke to once I had decided to start Loxley and I'll always have a soft spot for him.
All your eggs in just a couple of baskets
The Harrows model is a very interesting one with just 4 pro players on their books. I'm not even sure if they sponsor anyone on the Development Tour or Challenge Tour? But Harrows run a very tight ship, are laser focussed, very honourable and ethical and a brand I really look up to.
The Asian market
I don't know enough about the Asian market to comment I'm afraid aside from L-Style who I'm friends with but operate in a different niche within the darts market and do it really really well.
The smaller brands
There are other small brands like Datadart, Perfect 9, Karella, etc in the same boat as Loxley in that resources and manpower means they cannot take on too many players and don't have the pulling power to bring in the big names. Datadart have done really well to keep hold of Pikachu and kudos to Ricardo for showing great loyalty to the brand that launched him.
The history of Loxley players
I've mentioned it in another blog that Loxley was set up for Ryan Searle and Matthew Edgar so I don't need to repeat that story again here. But what of the rest?
Good, honest and respectful players
Before I list some example signings I thought I'd clarify a big point I do look for in players. The most important thing is having the right personality. Aaron Beeney is such a humble guy with a job less than one in a million would be capable of. David Schlichting you will have seen on Modus doing his match winning twirl and handshake before retrieving his darts or celebrating, this level of respect is the right stuff and is surprisingly seldom.
Zac Griffiths, Ronny Huybrechts, Stefan Dees and many others have also been given their chance as much due to how they represent themselves on and off the board and at events as for their talent or potential.
Aaron Beeney
I met Aaron before Loxley started when I was at the first pro tour of 2020. Aaron was at the same hotel and we had an immediate click. He was actually sponsored by another small brand at the time but due to the lockdowns they were unable to provide him with any equipment. Once the agreement was made with Edgar and Searle to start Loxley, the owner of the other brand actually asked if I could help Aaron out and I jumped at the chance.
Aaron is a very special person, his story is incredible in many ways and truly good people deserve a chance. Aaron had lost his first 14 or 15 pro tour matches at the time but Loxley would have sponsored him even if he lost the next 14 or 15.
Steve Hine
The Muffin Man was the 4th member of the OG Loxley team. Steve is one of Matt Edgars mates and one I thought fit in with the Loxley quirkyness. A good video call later and the deal was done.
Loxley NL
There's been a lot of Dutch players with Loxley over the years. Most of these ply their trade in my local pub so I've known them a good few years, have played against them in local comps so it's been a no brainer for both sides.
Exceptions have been Christian Kist who I've been a fan of for a long time and we hit it off so it was a good fit. Davy Proosten I met at the Challenge Tour and I believe he is an under achiever and Stefan Dees who I'd spotted at the Dev Tour a few times, a lad who has a beautiful throw and represents himself with grace and respect for opponents which is something I do value.
John Part and Keith Deller
Who as a start-up brand wouldn't want to sign two legends of the game like John and Keith? I have to give credit to a friend - affectionately known as Dartwolf to those who remember him. Dartwolf wanted to setup a brand around a few old legends including John and Keith, make darts and organise exhibition tours around the USA. Due to his other work commitments becoming too busy he offered to introduce the players to his favourite darts brand - Loxley - and a few phone calls and video calls later the pair signed.
Player, shop, Youtubers and management introductions
Having good relationships in darts is important and these have actually made introductions. A few of the Loxley stockists have helped with player signings like MyDarts in Switzerland introducing us to Belli and Cello. A now closed shop in Belgium asked Loxley to sponsor Robbie Knops whilst he had a tour card. Sonnys darts in Rotterdam introduced the late Arie van der Rassel, an old Aussie shop helped hook Mal Cuming up with Loxley and an American shop introduced me to Jules van Dongen who at the time had only been playing a few months but there was something special about him so met him and his family when he came to Holland and the rest is history.
A number of players have also been introduced by management teams looking for support for some of their players. Whilst from time to time Loxley players themselves introduce friends of theirs or local talent. Scott Baker was tipped by both Edgar and Ryan O'Connor. Ryan Searle introduced a then unknown Owen Bates and in turn Owen introduced Zac Griffiths. As for the youtubers, French Darts Reviewer asked if I'd take a look at French player Steven Morrison.
And I can't forget to mention Red Lips Shirts who has been a legend in many ways including introducing a couple of Polish players.
Ronny kicked my ass
A few years ago I was playing a tournament and in the group stage I was drawn against Belgian legend Ronny Huybrechts. He absolutely pummelled me with a 115 ish average whitewash. Ronny wanted one last crack at a tour card so a few months later we made a deal happen with the paperwork actually being signed at Q school where he won his card.
Tour card holder buys from Loxley
At the start of Loxley I noticed an order come in on this website from a tour card holder Gary Blades who bought a couple of sets of Loxley darts. He had been marking an Aaron Beeney match, liked his darts so much he ordered a set of Beeneys and a set of Robins. A bit of a chat later we made him some prototype Robins (that he used to beat MVG among others with). These 2 prototypes were merged into one of the Pro Tour models available now. A similar story happened with Koha Kokiri who was spotted on TV using the Robin model 1 at the World Series. The other Pro Tour Robin was designed by Koha himself.
Goldfinger - The one that got away
A couple of years ago Andrew Gilding was without a sponsor and I really wanted to talk to him. I thought Loxley and Andrew would have been a perfect fit. For one reason or another though we could never align our schedules for a proper meeting and in the meantime his old sponsor got back in touch and he re-signed with them.
The future of Loxley player sponsoring
As I've pointed out already, the competition for players is crazy. With the big brands sponsoring loads of academies or junior competitions that means there's a whole pool of players that are simply off limits to any other brand.
The sponsorship fees are also now a problem. A small brand just can't compete with the deep pockets of the bigger brands or those funded by venture capital or private equity.
But there's another big factor why the Loxley player pool has had to shrink. Manpower. I have to do right by the players themselves and if I can't give all players the time and attention they need or the production schedule is too tight to make prototypes or full production runs of their products then I'd be doing them a disservice. As Loxley has aged and grown I am busier and busier working on the business - and I have to make time for the odd round of golf during office hours as well!
Non contract players
There's loads of players Loxley supports on a non contract basis as well as the ones under contract. Of course I want to sponsor way more players but as I've pointed out, it's better to help them out where I can but free them up if other offers come along and also not disappoint with broken promises.
So no new players then?
For the time being no I'm not looking for new players. There's still so much work to be done before I can sit down again and really take a look at the financial and time-management budget and work out a proper player strategy. Loxley isn't big enough to justify a dedicated player-manager like the big brands have, though it is something I'd like to look at in a couple of years.
Never say never
All of that having been said, Loxley does get contacted by people all the time looking for a brand sponsor or making an introduction to a player. As an example I got a very early heads-up that Beau Greaves was becoming available. Much as I'd have loved to have signed her there was just no way. She had to go to Target or Nodor.
But you never know who or what is around the corner.
