ACL’s Evolution: Navigating Criticism, Policy Changes, and Manufacturer Departures Amidst 2024 Season Finale
The 2024 American Cornhole League season is winding down as we are only days away from crowning the next crop of World Champions. While the pro players are settling in and making adjustments as they look to finish out the season strong, behind the scenes the ACL has been dealing with criticism within the community. A looming “Board Stamp” policy and several bag companies opting out for the 2025 season leads the talk in the popular cornhole online forums.
What do we know?
Over the last 10 days or so there have been four Bag Manufacturers (Buffalo Boards, Ninja Bagz, Feist bags and 724 Bagger Co.) that have publicly announced they are opting out of the ACL for the 2025 season citing various reasons. Owner of Ninja Bagz stated, “I am definitely very appreciative of the ACL and what they have offered to our company for the past few seasons and making Ninja a name within the organization. We have a group of amazing throwers and supporters for Ninja and are super excited to offer some new and upcoming bags to help grow the sport of Cornhole.” One interesting thing to note about the departure of these companies is the variety of Tiers in which they came from. Buffalo Boards had been and I believe still was a Tier I company…a “big dog” in the bag world who sponsored several high profile players in the league. Feist bags and Ninja were both Tier II bag companies; meaning while they could produce “Pro" stamped bags, they were limited in the amount of series they could offer and their production capabilites were less than that of a Tier I company. Then perhaps the most interesting departure is 724 bagger Co. (Tier III).
If you have been in the competitive cornhole world for a few years, chances are you are very familiar with 724. A brand that burst onto the scene and became wildly popular with online bag releases selling out in SECONDS. Their early success was built on the foundation of charity work (the bags and designs are pretty good too) which was endearing to many within the cornhole world. Despite their unstamped success, they threw the biggest curveball of last season when they ultimately decided that going the “ACL route” was the best move. Fast Forward a year……and apparently that just isn’t the case. When asked for comment, Owner of 724 Bagger Co, Jared Nash stated, “Nothing more than a business decision for us. We tried it for the season and now we are on to other opportunities.”
If we take what we know, I think it is safe to say that the bag market just isn’t what it was three or four years ago. The ACL had over 50 bag companies approved for the 2024 season. Is that too many? Should their be a limit? Is the departure of 724 Bagger Co, Buffalo Bags, Feist bags and Ninja Bagz a cautionary tale for those with aspirations of trying their hand in making cornhole bags for the competitive/Pro level ACL player? How many more will opt out after the conclusion of the season? Unfortunately we just don’t have the answers quite yet, but I will be buckled in watching the show.
Have the prices of stamps increased?
The American Cornhole League is rolling out a similar tier system, however in 2025 there will be the addition of the “Premier” tier. Each tier separated by a manufactures ability to produce “X” amount of bags in a timely fashion, financial obligations and number of series that manufacturer can offer with a “pro stamp”. Let’s take a look:
Premiere:
Achieve Premier status based on performance, marketing and sponsorships etc
Maximum active series in a model year-20 (All ACL PRO eligible)
Additional Marketing opportunities
Multi-year contract
Tier 1:
· Min Capacity of 500 sets of 4 per week
· Ability to Generate substantial licensing revenue
· Maximum active series model-15 (All can be eligible for ACL PRO)
· New Application fee: $25,000
Tier 2:
· Min Capacity of 200 sets of 4 per week
· >10K a year in licensing revenue
· Maximum active series model-10 with 5 being eligible for ACL Pro
· New Application fee: $15,000
Tier 3:
· Min Capacity of 25 sets of 4 per week
· >2.5K a year in licensing revenue (previously no mimimal requirement)
· Avg turnaround time is 3 weeks (Tier 1 and Tier 2 is 2 weeks)
· Maximum active series Model-10 eligible for Comp or Rec
New Application fee: $5000
Pro Stamped bags: $2000 new bag submission fee (per new series) and annual bag list fee of $200 (per series); Royalties fee 15% of net sales
Comp Stamped bags: $1000 new bag submission fee (per new series) and annual bag list fee of $100 (per series); Royalties fee 10% of net sales
Mini Bags: Free new series submission, free annual bag list fee, royalty fee of 5% of net sales
Looming Board Stamp:
As the leader in the professional cornhole world and in an attempt to further standardize the equipment used in recreational and competitive cornhole, the ACL is set to include a “stamp policy” for boards. The new policy will require all ACL point events be played on ACL stamped boards, effective October 2026. Butttttttttt…..starting August 1st 2024, “entities wishing to sell or promote ACL marked boards or bags will be required to only offer products by ACL approved board and or bag manufacturers.” Well Whoop De Do Basil….What does it all mean? (if you get the reference you have my respect)
Well simply put, it means if you sell ACL stamped bags, you can only sell ACL approved products…..including boards. I mean is it weird, hypocritical even, that the ACL’s sponsor, backyard.com sells non ACL cornhole stuff? Absolutely…but that is for a future discussion. The major unknown factor is just how many ACL board manufacturers will be allowed? I guess we will have to wait to find out (or you could join our Patreon page to get the all details…..)
Not unlike their bag policy, the ACL’s Board policy will be broken down into 4 tiers: Rec, Comp, Elite and Pro
Rec: boards for the casual player
Comp: acceptable for competitive play and allowed to be used for certain ACL events (local points, regional events)
Elite: equipment meant for competitive players who want to run elite competitive tournaments. Required for State Championships and Open events
Pro: required for pro level events
ACL Owner and Commissioner, Stacey Moore has been quoted stating, “It (Board stamp) solves a common complaint we have from players that the boards vary too much from director to director.” He goes on to say, “While the two year replacement process may seem long to players, we want to make sure our directors can financially make the transition. We will support all our loyal directors during this process.”
And so…
If you visit a cornhole forum, you are bound to see at least 47 posts a day from grown adults complaining about something within the community. Most recently, and most often if we are being honest, that wrath has been turned towards the ACL as those previously mentioned, four bag companies, have decided to try their luck outside of the ACL world. A frequent narrative has been that the ACL is simply a greedy organization that is hellbent on making money hand over fist at all cost. Now, let us all take a deep breath and look at the situation with some perspective.
The ACL is an organization that employs people. People who work jobs enjoy being paid for performing that job. If we use simple math (I know my audience), let’s just say they have 50 employees who each make 60k a year (whether 60k is enough is another conversation all together…..but this is just “hypothetical right?). That number is 3 million dollars owed just to cover salaries. Now we all love having the opportunity to watch our game on the biggest sports stage in the world. The ACL signs a deal with ESPN where they would owe a hypothetical 2.5 million for broadcast rights. Then lest not forget the growing ACL pro prize pool of $1.5 million. That is $7 million total in expenses without including venue costs for events etc.
Let's say the ACL made $3 million is sponsorship, another $3 million in stamps and $1 million in memberships. That's $7 million total. That’s breaking even. I don’t have a business degree…but I don’t think that is good….Right?
Please don’t get hung up on theoretical numbers and miss the point. The point is, to run an organization that puts on events we all love to watch/attend, it costs money. Like it or not, the ACL IS A BUSINESS. If you are like me and want the game to grow as big as possible…..the ACL is our only shot (at least at this time). And PLEASE do not come at me with ACO “family environment” bullshit. Frank Geers and company had like a 15 year head start and STILL hasn’t progressed. Their events are fun and “family oriented”, but if you think the future of the professional game lies within the wisdom of the ACO you are far off the mark. Shit I think there are players still waiting for payouts from like 2006. Anyways….
So as frustrated as you may be….put yourself in the ACL’s shoes. Unless an angel investor comes and starts making it rain cash, we will continue to see policy changes in an attempt for an increase in revenue. The world is not getting any cheaper. Let’s go back to making the Cornhole community a welcoming place…let’s support those who are trying to do better for the game….remember why you started playing in the first place. It wasn’t to get rich…it wasn’t for the fame or glory….
Drop your comments below and be sure to tune into the Big Asp Cornhole Podcast (drops every Wednesday) for a more in-depth discussion!!
As always, I hope you throw it straight and it is nothing but four baggers from here on out!
