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punky,
If you have all this side inside info from the manufactures, tell me what you would offer the top pro bowlers on tour?  Are they worth $2K per month, $4K per month, $6K per month, $8K per month, $10K per month?  Why stop there, give them 200K per year since they the major factor in balls sales?  
What I'm saying is what are the pros worth using their products?  Do you remember the MVP line from Brunswick?  They had balls from Aulby, WRIII and Parker Bohn.  How long were these balls in the market for?  Aulby was the best of the three.  Pro names don't sell balls.  Why are the number of ProAM not increasing?  I remember they had to cancell a few of them because the turn out was so bad.
Go ask your pro shop or the local distributor because NO bowler used the Morich Weapon of Mass Bias on TV and it was one of the hottest balls for awhile.  Nothing fancy but it performed, the ball hoooked alot.  Goes to prove that performance will out sell a pro bowlers using a bad product.  
Do you think the pros will agree to a contract based on number of balls sold?
In perspective, X-Game stars make 10 - 100 times what pro bowlers get and they're worth it because of the larger audience. For your info, the number of bowlers are on the DECLINE, just look at your leagues.  
I'm done on this subject

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DanR,

Done already on this subject THAT YOU CREATED?  I was just getting started Just kidding with you!!!  Anyways....you have some good questions in this reply.  
(1) What would I pay a pro bowler on tour?  That all depends on how involoved I want the particular pro in the bowling company.  If I wanted a pro to be directly involoved in the research/development, testing, marketing (ads, commercials, exclusive use, etc.), I would pay them more than a pro that does not have a contract with a company and is only using the bowling equipment on TV.  Free agents like Walter Ray Williams Jr. are paid a one time fee of $10k to $20k by a bowling company to use their equipment on TV.  Using a sliding scale, I believe pros that are more involved in the company would make more...like Chris Barnes or Parker Bohn III.  Maybe they make $80k or $100k per year.
(2) Are these pros worth it?  It all depends on how you utilize them.  Bowling companies, like others, take chances by associating bowling products with pros.  Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't.  Failures do include Brunswick's MVP line (Good Example).  But I think bowling companies have found the right mix by just having pros using the product on TV.  Pro names alone don't sell balls........but wins by a pro using the bowling product sells bowling balls.  There are definitely pros and cons for paying athletes in general the money you pay them.  But that would take too long to go into.  If you want a clearer result, look at the companies financial balance sheets to see if they lost money.
(3) MoRich Weapon of Mass Bias outsold all other balls in a pro shop? The WMB was a good selling bowling ball.  But take a close look at the balls on your pro shop.  How many MoRich bowling balls do they offer in comparison to Brusnswick, Storm, Columbia 300, Track, AMF, Ebonite, Hammer.  I bet for every one MoRich ball, Storm, for example, offers three balls.  The bigger companies offer more variety balls to sell to a wider variety of bowlers.  They are going for a bigger market share than for a niche market that MoRich and Lane#1 goes for.  In the bowling industry, like other industries, market share counts.  I believe that MoRich and Lane#1 are doing very well in their sales.  But they do wish that they had the number of sales that Brunswick and Storm have since they have more of the market share.
(4) Bowling is in a decline.  YES I can see that clearly.  I just had my bowling center close because of rising leased space costs.  I do see the decline on league members and tournament participants.  That's why bowling must look outside the box.  Remember, the PBA almost went under in the mid 90s if it wasn't for a former Microsoft exec who bought the PBA and overhalled it and turned it to the success it is today.  How did he do it, by looking outside the box and doing things non-traditionally (better graphics, music, etc) without offending the bowling purist.  Storm is doing this by promoting their scents on balls.  They got some good PR by making it to Good Morning America and promoting their balls for their scent to a non bowling market.  I don't remember the last time a bowling company got some much press for a ball.  I praise companies efforts to try to expand their markets.  It's not an easy effort, but it's a must if you're trying to keep the sport of bowling alive.  You can't merely focus on niche market to keep bowling growing.  Expansion is the key.

I promote the sport of bowling in my office full of non bowlers, and to my friends.  It maybe a small effort on my part.  But if that translates them to go to a bowling to have fun at least, then I have done my part.  I encourage you to do the same.

By the way DanR........If you had the chance to pick a pro bowler to join the Hammer pro staff for next season, who would it be?

dpunky