First of all, you better have stout chin fur if you want to own a piece of the NPFL...😁 Brad has that plus no FFS plus a lot of tour pros on his roster. Wanted to talk about that, here we go:
1. Where would you say the NPFL is relative to the Elites, Bass Pro Tour, Opens and Invitationals?
> "We were labeled by the media and industry as a working-man's tour and I think the misconception there is there's a very small percentage of guys who solely bass-fish and make their living at bass fishing. I think there's more working men on the Bassmaster Elite Series than people realize.
> "...misconception we were never going to be a, quote, 'professional tour.' That concept within the industry – what constitutes a professional tour...however you want to label yourself, put your boat in the water, show up and catch 5 big ones, and call yourself whatever you want.
> "The reality is, I don't care and I don't think the NPFL cares because it doesn't have any value to us in how we move forward. We're not here to beat B.A.S.S. or MLF. We're here to put out the best possible product we can. We have far more important things to worry about than where we rank in the great scheme of things.
> "But...where those sponsors see us does have a bona fide dollar value.... Every one of those sponsors has their own unique way they view things.... We feel very fortunate to where we have great companies coming on board....
> "I can't tell you whether we're 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th or 8th, but I can tell you we're better than when we started...."
[This does not take away from Brad's points about what is a pro and that the NPFL has evolved, but I need to point out that the NPFL said this when it launched: "The inaugural season of The NPFL is going to be special for many reasons. One of the things we are most proud of is giving 'working men' the opportunity to live out their dreams!"]
2. By going no FFS were you hoping more top tour pros would fish your trail?
> "I think I would answer yes to that. Here's why...another measuring stick for your company and business is what is your sphere of influence...how many people notice and talk about it. When you add anglers who have significant following within the industry, you are increasing your sphere of influence. That's important to NPFL because it's important to sponsors.
> "We certainly felt it would be a draw to current touring-level pros, but also other people who...wanted to do it...without FFS. ...it's also a true separator for us: This is how the NPFL is different...."
3. What do you think about the number of tour pros who signed up – were you expecting more or fewer?
> "Fewer. I would say in all honesty it's about double what I thought.... My question was, if you look at the B.A.S.S., MLF and NPFL schedules...on top of each other, my concern was how many anglers would take the 2-tour angling path...simply because of the wear and tear on their bodies...the travel.
> "That was my #1 concern, were any of these guys going bite the bullet and run that gauntlet of a schedule...."
Follow-up: Tour pros who fish your trail say it's more fun to fish than the bigger or more-intense tours. Why do you think that is?
> "I think it goes right to culture, how we interface with the anglers. We're owner-operators. We're in the trenches with them...there's no better unifier than camaraderie in the trenches.
> "When you can give a person a feeling of inclusion and stand beside them – be there in the morning, in the rain, snow, sleet and suffer with them, succeed with them – when you truly have that shoulder to shoulder mentality, it makes for a better environment and great culture.
> "...our first angler meeting of the year...I spent a significant amount of time talking about – I want the guys to understand why they're here....hey, why am I doing this. And throughout the year, as times get tough, I want you to fall back on that why. It's not all pink clouds and cotton candy. This is a tough road. It's high competition.
> "But at the end of the day, you need to look back and say, This is why I'm here, and you need to conduct yourself in a manner that represents that. Because that's what we're going to do...."
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