What's clear is that KJ was underperforming compared to previous years on a contract that let Prodigy get out of a deal. Whoever represented KJ when that contract was signed should be drawn and quartered. The next few months are going to be key in KJ's story and trajectory. If he can rebound, Innova looks amazing and Prodigy is landed with a pretty serious egg on their face. After last year's lawsuit, optics look rough for the company and the last thing I would have wanted to do is to bring that back into the mainstream. Prodigy's strategy to make sure KJ had somewhere to go certainly was a strategy to shift the narrative to their side, but still brings up recent feelings of strange contracting deals and rough business practices seen with previous professionals like Uli and Jerm. This really isn't anything new for a company rife with contracting disputes, and I hope that KJ can return to playing to the calibre that we all have seen him play at.
Look at guys like Eric Oakley and Scott Stokely doing clinics and hustling discs. Offering likeability, teaching clinics and working it. Kevin is one of the most likeable guys on tour. He should be selling discs like hotcakes if he pushed it.
Prodigy looks good here to me! KJ was getting paid a grip to 1/ Heart not in it 2/ Absent from social media 3/ Poor tournament performance. Guy had time for techno but should be posting practice videos showing he’s working his ace off. Sucking Prodigy’s budget dry. Discs aren’t selling he should be hustling them on social media and tournies. Market is rough and he got caught chilling on his honeymoon. Sorry. I see an elite athlete taking it for granite. His energy HAS to change now. Same with Vaino. Gotta hustle.
Väinö stated very clearly that he wasn't dropped, he wanted to leave. The reasoning was very vague though. Looking at the Powergrip Europe (#1 DG retailer here in Finland) sales charts, Prodigy's annual market share split in half from 2022 to 2023, while having a world champion last year. Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks their discs aren't up to standard.
Yeah, Väinö stated in an interview that he himself started the conversation about leaving Prodigy and joining another sponsor and this was back in December 2023 / January 2024
Prodigy either has the highest integrity or the worst. Since we don’t know the top executives of Prodigy and how they are behind the scenes, I I just gather what info I do know based on the players, who they have kept, the Robinson bros (good nature) over the KJ’s & Buhr. KJ has expressed that his motivation for disc golf isn’t there and Buhr can be cocky and immature. I’m siding with Prodigy if I had to choose.
@@Carrillo91 I meant to prodigy he was dropped fairly under his contract for underperforming. Legally dropped him found him a new sponsor. It was a business decision to drop him. In any other professional sport it wouldn’t be a big deal, but this time it is?
@@Sanfordtime Most people don't care. It's just nerds who spend too much time on the internet who love to follow the latest popular internet opinion and are terrified to think for themselves.
We don’t know enough about the Prodigy contracts to completely throw them under the bus. Was something in the contracts not being upheld? Is the company really going under and can’t afford them anymore? If that is the case and they helped Vaino and Jones get another sponsor, they did what they could to help.
Prodigy was always known for paying players way too much while most companies didn’t pay players anything. Sales were good during the bubble so they paid kj a bunch he has stopped promoting stuff on social media stopped being on otb and stopped placing high in matches so he was actually now doing nothing for the business and taking a massive amount of the money. Now with dropping them they can hope to pay the Robinson big push them and hope to build.
@@Sanfordtime that would be my assumption too with the limited insight I have on the situation. KJ was more pumped to promote his DJing rather than the product.
@@Sanfordtime how are they not? Their history of starting their company and letting their players have other brands of discs but made sure they had a prodigy stamp on them. They seemingly push away every player that can ever carry their name. Without their European sales they would be under already. They were only responsible for like 2.8% of disc sales in America last year if I remember correctly. Because their molds are the least consistent, and don’t bring any attraction to new players. Don’t get started on their universally hated baskets.
@@hyzervalleydiscgolf u mean like discmania who had Innova molds who everyone else throws still to this day instead of newer molds. They also were the first ones to actually pay players originally help get up coming talent etc. everyone complains about almost all baskets in some way. If you are talking about the flashing that’s old news that has been corrected. What molds have you thrown from prodigy? Also the pa3 is probably one of the best beaded putters on the market. I agree drivers and fairways lack but they have some of the best approach and putting lineups on the market. I understand not liking a company but the overall hate is just weird to me and overblown.
@@Sanfordtime all of them essentially, I’m from the same town KJ is from so everyone here has tried prodigy religiously , I bagged D2s, A3s, pa-3s, f5s, fx2s. Have like 3 or 4 of each mold. Non fly the same as the one before, I have had D2s that are so flippy I can roll them, and I’ve had some that are as O/s as a tilt. Flashing has never been an issue for me I could care less about that.
@@hyzervalleydiscgolf I feel that I have had that same issue with Innova tho maybe not to that degree but for sure have had firebirds fly completely opposite from what others fly like even mvp who is crazy consistent people have issues with stability, but hey each to their own.
KJ hasn't been the same since blowing a 2 shot lead on Calvin and 3 on McBeth with 3 holes to play at Jonesboro in 2022.
What's clear is that KJ was underperforming compared to previous years on a contract that let Prodigy get out of a deal. Whoever represented KJ when that contract was signed should be drawn and quartered. The next few months are going to be key in KJ's story and trajectory. If he can rebound, Innova looks amazing and Prodigy is landed with a pretty serious egg on their face. After last year's lawsuit, optics look rough for the company and the last thing I would have wanted to do is to bring that back into the mainstream. Prodigy's strategy to make sure KJ had somewhere to go certainly was a strategy to shift the narrative to their side, but still brings up recent feelings of strange contracting deals and rough business practices seen with previous professionals like Uli and Jerm. This really isn't anything new for a company rife with contracting disputes, and I hope that KJ can return to playing to the calibre that we all have seen him play at.
Look at guys like Eric Oakley and Scott Stokely doing clinics and hustling discs. Offering likeability, teaching clinics and working it. Kevin is one of the most likeable guys on tour. He should be selling discs like hotcakes if he pushed it.
Too busy blazin up at the music festivals lol
Jones heart hasn’t seemed in it the last year and a half. Maybe being with a new sponsor will get that joy he used to bring back to the course.
@@dylanbrunenkant4606 He got paid way more than I thought by Prodigy. He should be motivated by the money he received. Sheesh
Talent is too my good now
Prodigy looks good here to me! KJ was getting paid a grip to 1/ Heart not in it 2/ Absent from social media 3/ Poor tournament performance. Guy had time for techno but should be posting practice videos showing he’s working his ace off. Sucking Prodigy’s budget dry. Discs aren’t selling he should be hustling them on social media and tournies. Market is rough and he got caught chilling on his honeymoon. Sorry. I see an elite athlete taking it for granite. His energy HAS to change now. Same with Vaino. Gotta hustle.
Holy shit this dude said taking it for granite😂😂😂
Väinö stated very clearly that he wasn't dropped, he wanted to leave. The reasoning was very vague though.
Looking at the Powergrip Europe (#1 DG retailer here in Finland) sales charts, Prodigy's annual market share split in half from 2022 to 2023, while having a world champion last year. Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks their discs aren't up to standard.
lol wild take but ok
Yeah, Väinö stated in an interview that he himself started the conversation about leaving Prodigy and joining another sponsor and this was back in December 2023 / January 2024
Going out of business SALE! Prodigy is done. Trying to save as much money as they can before going under.
Prodigy either has the highest integrity or the worst. Since we don’t know the top executives of Prodigy and how they are behind the scenes, I I just gather what info I do know based on the players, who they have kept, the Robinson bros (good nature) over the KJ’s & Buhr. KJ has expressed that his motivation for disc golf isn’t there and Buhr can be cocky and immature.
I’m siding with Prodigy if I had to choose.
I'm happy for KJ. hoping this new journey with innova is going to bring him back to where he was.
You just got Makela'd
Will be better for KJ when he doesnt need to fight the discs all the time.
Dudes just washed now don’t know why the hate on prodigy for dropping an underperforming player legally and finding him a new sponsor lol 😂
@@Sanfordtime you're calling him washed... "wHy ThE hAte"☠
@@Carrillo91 I meant to prodigy he was dropped fairly under his contract for underperforming. Legally dropped him found him a new sponsor. It was a business decision to drop him. In any other professional sport it wouldn’t be a big deal, but this time it is?
@@Sanfordtime Most people don't care. It's just nerds who spend too much time on the internet who love to follow the latest popular internet opinion and are terrified to think for themselves.
We don’t know enough about the Prodigy contracts to completely throw them under the bus. Was something in the contracts not being upheld? Is the company really going under and can’t afford them anymore? If that is the case and they helped Vaino and Jones get another sponsor, they did what they could to help.
Prodigy was always known for paying players way too much while most companies didn’t pay players anything. Sales were good during the bubble so they paid kj a bunch he has stopped promoting stuff on social media stopped being on otb and stopped placing high in matches so he was actually now doing nothing for the business and taking a massive amount of the money. Now with dropping them they can hope to pay the Robinson big push them and hope to build.
@@Sanfordtime that would be my assumption too with the limited insight I have on the situation. KJ was more pumped to promote his DJing rather than the product.
KjUSA!
Innova molds are pretty inconsistent as well.
Prodigy is a 🤡 company anyways...F
@@whysoseriousz306 why do you think that though?
@@Sanfordtime Because that's what the herd told him to think.
Lol at the 2 of you fan boys challenging every opposing comment 😂😂😂🤡🤡🤡🤡
Prodigy is a joke
@@hyzervalleydiscgolf why tho ?
@@Sanfordtime how are they not? Their history of starting their company and letting their players have other brands of discs but made sure they had a prodigy stamp on them. They seemingly push away every player that can ever carry their name. Without their European sales they would be under already. They were only responsible for like 2.8% of disc sales in America last year if I remember correctly. Because their molds are the least consistent, and don’t bring any attraction to new players. Don’t get started on their universally hated baskets.
@@hyzervalleydiscgolf u mean like discmania who had Innova molds who everyone else throws still to this day instead of newer molds. They also were the first ones to actually pay players originally help get up coming talent etc. everyone complains about almost all baskets in some way. If you are talking about the flashing that’s old news that has been corrected. What molds have you thrown from prodigy? Also the pa3 is probably one of the best beaded putters on the market. I agree drivers and fairways lack but they have some of the best approach and putting lineups on the market. I understand not liking a company but the overall hate is just weird to me and overblown.
@@Sanfordtime all of them essentially, I’m from the same town KJ is from so everyone here has tried prodigy religiously , I bagged D2s, A3s, pa-3s, f5s, fx2s. Have like 3 or 4 of each mold. Non fly the same as the one before, I have had D2s that are so flippy I can roll them, and I’ve had some that are as O/s as a tilt. Flashing has never been an issue for me I could care less about that.
@@hyzervalleydiscgolf I feel that I have had that same issue with Innova tho maybe not to that degree but for sure have had firebirds fly completely opposite from what others fly like even mvp who is crazy consistent people have issues with stability, but hey each to their own.
Prodigy worked a deal with Innova, they didnt just toss him to the side they helped land him a spot afterwards.