With the UFC pay-per-view era coming to an end through the historic Paramount deal, Tom Aspinall wonders how the new model will affect the earning potential of the promotion's top fighters.Earlier this week, CEO Dana White announced the new broadcasting deal, revealing Paramount and CBS as the company's new U.S. broadcasters. The deal is set to bag the TKO group $7.7 billion over a seven-year period.In the announcement, the 56-year-old highlighted that for the first time, U.S. fans would be able to enjoy all UFC fights, including their premier numbered offerings, without a pay-per-view.During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Aspinall discussed the topic, wondering what the new deal means for the fighters' pay.Speaking to the veteran MMA journalist, the reigning heavyweight champion confessed that while he is yet to become a true pay-per-view star, he would've liked the opportunity to build himself into one:"See guys like Ilia Topuria, etc... they are like established pay-per-view stars. I'm not really a pay-per-view star yet. I've only fought pay-per-view a couple of times. I'm not a massive pay-per-view star, I'm not selling a million pay-per-views, but I intend to. So, how does that work? I don't know."Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below:Pay-per-view points have historically been a major income driver for the company's top stars. For context, Conor McGregor has been part of eight straight UFC pay-per-views that each cleared the one million buy mark, enabling him to earn tens of millions of dollars over his base pay.With such exploits now unlikely, it is unclear how top fighters would offset their incomes.When Tom Aspinall gave his take on the UFC vs. Football pay scaleDuring one of his streams, Tom Aspinall was quizzed by a fan about his thoughts on UFC fighter pay compared to footballers.While it is unclear whether the fan meant American football or soccer, the heavyweight kingpin's answer wasn't as polarizing as some of his fellow MMA stars', but it was nonetheless thought-provoking.UFC fighter pay has long been a contentious debate in the sporting community, with the lower and higher end salaries of MMA stars seemingly paling in comparison to leagues like the NFL.Per a report by DAZN, an NFL rookie selected in the seventh round of the draft is expected to earn under $4 million over a four-year contract. Meanwhile, a UFC debutant earns around $12,000 and $30,000 per fight, a far cry from the NFL figures.During his stream, Aspinall argued that at least top UFC athletes should be paid closer to their football counterparts:"I wouldn't want to say that footballers should get paid less, because we'd all take the money if we could, but I think UFC fighters, especially at the top level, should get paid more. That's my opinion."