Jose Aldo turned down an offer from Reebok to stay with Venum, and he might lose his sponsorship deal after all.
One of the biggest critics of the "sh-t" Reebok deal, Aldo was eventually offered an exclusive contract with the brand, but turned it down. As his team explained in June, Brazilian apparel brand Venum was a better deal even though Reebok offered more money.
"(Reebok) money was a little over than what Venum used to pay, but with the discounts (in the United States) it would become less than what we make here," Aldo’s manager Andre Pederneiras explained. "Taxes here are lower. It was a business decision, and we continued with Venum."
Three months later and entering the biggest fight of his career against Conor McGregor at UFC 194, the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC could part ways with Venum.
"We have a contract with Aldo until October, and we’ll have a conversation to see if it’s worth to continue with the sponsorship," Venum’s Andre Vieira told Ag. Fight. "It’s really positive for the brand to have Jose Aldo as your cover boy, but do people see that? Does it bring us more visibility? Who gets this information?"
Before the Reebok deal, Aldo would enter the cage to defend his title using Venum shorts. Venum stopped sponsoring several UFC fighters after the change, and Aldo could be the next to leave.
"It was a different story in the past," Vieira said. "You put your shorts and the whole world would see it. If I gave Jose Aldo 10,000 reais per month, I would get it back in return. Today, to have a third of this return, I have to give Aldo two 2,000 reais and spend more 8,000 in advertisement. It’s too much."