A few years ago, when "megabuck" tournaments hit the scene, a new breed of bowler was born. Some have called them "professional amateurs," but in my book, many are no different than the 3,500 card-carrying members of the Professional Bowlers Association.
Because their incomes are closely guarded secrets, no one knows for sure exactly how many of them there are or what their statistics may be. No doubt they are very good bowlers, many more than qualified to make a living on the PBA Tour, but they choose to remain in the wings, avoiding the bright lights of the tour. A few are certainly good enough to compete with the best players in the world and have proven themselves in that respect by finishing high in PBA events bowling as guests.
A good way to characterize some of these megabuck bowlers would be somewhere between baseball relief pitchers and old west gunslingers. A few look innocent enough, but in action, they look like choirboys with machine guns, cutting their competition to ribbons. Most are aggressive by nature, at least on the lanes. In the short format world of the "outlaw tour," you have to be aggressive to make a living.
A growing number of them make a very comfortable living. How much? No one knows for sure because much of the prize money is paid in cash, but those who win the big events pick up checks ranging from $20,000 to over $200,000. Oddly enough, most of the money paid on the outlaw tour is in the side pots, sweepers, and brackets, put there by the contestants themselves. A few events have minor sponsorships, but most operate on entry fees from the bowlers.
In 1997, some 15 to 20 megabuck events will be held, and the total money paid out probably will exceed $10 million. It’s no wonder that these bowlers don’t want any part of the PBA circuit. Why should they knock heads with Williams and Duke when they can outgun Smith and Jones for more money and less effort and expense?
Is there anything illegal about all this? If you are an IRS agent, you might want a closer look, but it’s unlikely there is too much hanky-panky taking place. Most of the top megabuck bowlers look at it as a job, very much like the PBA touring players. The best players usually have sponsors, and they make the entire circuit of events every year.
A good way to characterize
some of these megabuck bowlers
would be somewhere between
baseball relief pitchers and old west gunslingers.
I’ve heard some people say that the American Bowling Congress should bring back the rule saying that any bowler making more than 50 percent of his income bowling is a pro, even if he is not a member of the PBA. I don’t know if that would be a good thing. It probably wouldn’t affect the megabuck events because most are not ABC-sanctioned anyway. It might also have an adverse effect on TEAM USA. Many of the TEAM USA players are regulars on the megabuck tour, and TEAM USA is having a difficult time attracting the best players these days.
You often hear PBA players talk about the megabuck events in a negative way; mostly, I think they just wish they could bowl in them. All of the megabuck events have one cardinal rule: No PBA players allowed. It has to be frustrating to be a PBA player making $25,000 or $30,000 a year, knowing that you have more talent than some of the megabuck players making over $100,000. A few PBA players have dropped their pro membership just to be able to compete in the megabuck events.
I used to think there were only a handful of really good bowlers bowling in these megabuck events, but after looking into it, I now realize there are hundreds. I’m not saying there are hundreds equal to a top PBA touring pro, but there are hundreds equal to any PBA regional player, and regional PBA players are not eligible for these events.
The attraction of most of these events is the big first-place check, but running a close second is the enormous amount of money in the brackets. In one recent event, I was told that over 700 brackets were sold for one squad!
For those of you who may not be familiar with the bracket racket, brackets are simply eight-player single elimination mini-tournaments within the big tournament. Eight players put up between $5 and $20 each to make an eight-player bracket. Players are matched against each other randomly (mostly by a computer program these days), and they bowl head-to-head one-game matches. After the first game, four of the eight players are eliminated. After two games, only two players remain, and they bowl the third game against each other for first and second place.
Players and backers can enter as many brackets as they can afford in some events, but others have put limits on them to protect the little guys.
How much can be won in brackets? Using the squad I mentioned above with 700 brackets sold at $15 per entry, let’s say a player was entered in only 100 of them. If he bowls well and wins 50 of the 100 brackets (for $80 each) and finishes second in 25 more (for $25 each), he wins $4,525. It cost him $1,500 to enter, so he nets $3,025. Not bad, but he’s not even close to being the biggest winner. With 700 brackets sold, the bracket seller made $10,500 (700 x $15). Almost all bracket operators take out one spot for themselves out of every bracket (a 12.5 percent sales commission).
Indeed, brackets have become a huge part of the megabuck tournaments, and they have even found their way into such events as the ABC Tournament and the World Team Challenge. I recently heard one player call the World Team Challenge "the big bracket party." He said the reason a lot of players go is to play in the brackets. According to him, the money in the brackets has become much bigger than the money in the main event.
Is that a good thing? You’ll have to decide that for yourself.
Looking at the big picture, if I were a young bowler with a lot of talent, choosing between the "megabuck tour" and the PBA Tour would be very difficult. With PBA Tour money dropping and megabuck money rising these days, it looks like more and more young players are choosing to try a "gunfighter" career. Usually, only those who don’t find the big bucks within a couple of years go on to PBA competition.
How can the PBA compete with the megabuck tour? The PBA is a great organization and has a lot to offer its members, but there is no doubt that the only way they will be able to attract these young bowlers is to match the megabuck event dollar for dollar. If the PBA had some events paying $200,000 or more for first place, maybe some of these young hot shots would think twice about going on the megabuck tour. Then again, without brackets in the PBA, maybe they wouldn’t.
Jim Goodwin, a BWAA director and LPBT’s regional program director, is the award-winning editor/publisher of Stars & Strikes, in which the preceding originally appeared. Subscription rates are $20 per year (Pin Point Publishing, 2850 Red Valley Run, Rockwall, Texas 75087 ... voice/fax: 972/771-0069).