Not long after UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and president Dana White explained the ins and outs of the company's landmark deal with Reebok to outfit its fighters, two thoughts immediately came to mind:

1. This could work out to benefit the majority of fighters (not just an elite few).

2. It will prove over the long haul to be extremely beneficial to the UFC.

Fertitta and White each stressed that the six-year agreement with Reebok is, from a financial standpoint, the largest non-broadcast deal in the history of the company.

View photos UFC president Dana White is trying to boost the company's earnings from sponsorship deals. (Getty Images) More

They weren't giving up any details – they never do – but it's a safe guess that the deal will pour at least eight figures a year into the UFC's coffers.

The UFC is less than 25 years old, but in its current incarnation, under the Zuffa ownership of White and Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, it's less than 14 years old. There is still much room to grow, and these are the kinds of deals that growing businesses are eager to strike.

It's easy to forget that the UFC is still a rookie in the pro sports business. In 1968, the 99th year of Major League Baseball, the minimum salary was just $6,000 and the average salary was only $20,632.

White and the Fertittas are attempting to build a sustainable business that would, in theory, mean the fighters would make significantly more than they do now.

So, the UFC struck the deal with Reebok to bring aboard a blue-chip sponsor that should improve the appearance of the product on television and help increase awareness.

Being able to go to Macy's or Sports Authority to buy a Johny Hendricks shirt or a T.J. Dillashaw cap will only help increase the marketability of the sport and those involved in it.

All of that guaranteed money Reebok is paying, White stressed repeatedly in a telephone conversation with Yahoo Sports, will go to the athletes.

"Every last [expletive] penny of it," White said. "Who else does that? Any reporter who says this isn't a fantastic deal [for the fighters] is out of his [expletive] mind."

There are far too many unknowns at this stage to say whether it is or isn't a great deal for the fighters, but there is no question that it was a banner day at Zuffa headquarters.

Athletes in all sports have relatively short careers and need to make as much as they can as quickly as they can. But UFC management doesn't face the same crunch. Despite the horrible year it has had selling pay-per-views, it’s still making money. Management has the benefit of time.

It can nurture the deal, make sure everyone plays along and says all the right things, and hope it explodes into something much bigger down the line.

Besides, it's not like the UFC is going to go penniless on this deal. Apparel with fighter likenesses will be sold at as many as 10,000 retail locations and, of course, online.

The UFC and the fighter will share in the profits from those sales. There will be a lot of Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones, Vitor Belfort, Anderson Silva and Cain Velasquez apparel sold, but probably not much merchandise with the likenesses of, oh, Walt Harris and Bubba Bush.

View photos Stars such as Ronda Rousey stand to benefit greatly from the Reebok deal. (Getty) More

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