In a candid announcement, elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor William Tackett revealed his decision to withdraw from the upcoming ADCC World Championships in order to compete at the lucrative Craig Jones Invitational instead. Tackett, who had earned his spot at ADCC by winning the trials earlier this year, cited the unprecedented $1 million grand prize at CJI as too enticing to pass up.
“ADCC is not about that. ADCC is about legacy,” Tackett explained of the prestige associated with the iconic submission grappling tournament. “But a $1 million prize, that can change the trajectory of my life and my career in a very dramatic fashion.”
The 23-year-old black belt, who trains at a successful academy in Texas, laid out the stark financial realities facing many professional grapplers. Despite his accomplishments Tackett admits that competitors often struggle to make ends meet with the typical payouts on the BJJ circuit. Winning ADCC’s biggest division provides only a fraction of CJI’s $1M grand prize.
“We pay bills. It’s expensive for us to travel and feed ourselves properly…we sometimes barely scrape by,” Tackett said candidly. “A million dollars would change a lot and make it a lot easier to be able to travel [and] get crazy variety of different training in.”
But the decision went beyond just Tackett’s own ambitions. He emotionally described the sacrifices his parents made to support his grappling dreams from an early age, with his mother quitting her career to homeschool Tackett and his brother Andrew to free up time to train jiu-jitsu. The chance to win $1M and give back to his family was a major factor.
“For us, it would be great for me to get back to my parents in some way,” Tackett said in a video posted on his channel, clarifying he may share the windfall with the family members who helped enable his success.
The rise of the Craig Jones Invitational, with its unprecedented prize money backed by wealthy investors, has disrupted the traditional BJJ landscape. Multiple stars like Nicky Ryan and Luke Rockhold have already committed amid reports of other elite grapplers including Ffion Davies considering doing the same.
For Tackettthe risk of leaving behind the iconic submission grappling tournament’s prestige was worth taking if it means life-changing money. He vows to re-earn his ADCC spot through the trials if needed.
“I know ADCC’s not going anywhere,” Tackett stated. “But who knows if there will ever be a CJI with $1M again? I see the shot right there, let me take it.”
Previously Tom DeBlass admonished the Tackett brothers for leaving ADCC promising them they could make a million in instructional sales instead. Perhaps DeBlass overlooked the fact that if the Tackett’s win a $1M prize each, they will have plenty of cache and financials to market their instructionals.
