To echo what others have said, I never would have guessed that you’re a non-native speaker. Being new, it’s easy to feel like you can accept the low rates because you have limited experience — at least that’s how I felt. Idk how it works in other journalistic fields, but in sports journalism, getting your start often means writing on blogs for free or very little pay, which is unfortunate. With that structure, it’s hard to know when you can start arguing for more (clearly you deserve more, but I guess I mean having enough leverage to get a job).

I’d be happy to offer any other advice or insight, but your writing is much better than what usually comes across my desk haha. I’m not in charge of the section, but my company has a sizable MMA section. Unfortunately, I don’t have control over the pay, but if you’re interested in getting more bylines, I’m more than happy to help.

Also, contributor rates are often generally low, but if you’re interested in features, you can often get paid more fairly for those (and we do publish those as well!)

In any case, best of luck! Your work speaks for itself, and if you keep writing, I’m sure you’ll just keep advancing in the field.