In any poker tournament on espn, the players at the final table all seem to have sponsorships already, how?

Question

i mean these are often "no names," yet full tilt has them wearing their hats....do they sign deals during the tournaments....like here's 10 grand to wear my hat since you made it to the final table

Answer 1

A lot of times the no name will have qualified for the tournament online.  Often the site they qualified on will pay their entry to the tournament (that was the prize they won).

A lot of sites offer to give them a free hotel room or some other perk if they agree to wear the shirt on TV.

In some tournaments they certainly may get offered money before the final table.  Especially this year with the WSOP main event.  I'd be amazed if anyone is not wearing sponsor gear this year.

Answer 2

Most of the times those "no name" players won their way into the tournament through online qualifiers. If you read the small print at most online poker sites, you'll see that to accept your prize, the site requires you to wear their gear in the tournament. So it's basically free advertising for the site, and by accepting the prize money you have no choice.

All sites are not like this, however. For example, Pokerstars will pay you additional money if you qualify into the WSOP Main Event, wear their  gear, and appear on TV and/or make the final table.  

Answer 3

Yes, they often do that.

I do not know the $ value.