Lee Lorenzen -- When We  Were Kings -- The Power of Controlling a Two-Party Option

“The dream is becoming a reality.”   – Don King speaking after he had negotiated the option agreements he needed to stage the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.

As described in the When We Were Kings documentary, Don King went to George Foreman and got him to sign an option agreement saying that if King could deliver $5 million, Foreman would fight Ali – more than double the prior record for a single fighter.

Then King went to Ali and made the same deal.  So, Don King now had agreements with both fighters and their signatures on two pieces of paper.  What he didn't have was $10 million.  

So, he went to the president of Zaire who was willing to put up $10 million as a means of promoting Zaire and himself.

The genius of the option-based approach is that it allows you to make and control a great deal without any upfront funds.