Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Beyond the fame and glory... there’s the money

As millions of sports fans the world over dream of skipping the skullduggery of the 9-5 grind for paychecks that hardly make ends meet, the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather matchup this Sunday is easily the biggest payday for both boxing champs that translate into 10-digit paychecks in peso terms.

 

Have you ever wondered how much in terms of prize purse both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather have managed to rake in over the course of their long boxing careers?

 

It’s safe to say both boxers will pass the $425 million (P18.8 billion) mark after the fight. 

 

Only a select few among the world class athletes have attained such stratospheric numbers in prize money. 

 

According to Forbes, the ones that have done so include such luminaries as Tiger Woods (Golf), Phil Mickelson (Golf), Roger Federer (Tennis), LeBron James (Basketball), Kobe Bryant (Basketball) and Mayweather himself. 

 

Besides Pacquiao and Mayweather, the athletes on the list made money mostly through product or company endorsements.

 

Even though Mayweather is the one nicknamed “Money,” Pacquiao is no slouch in the earnings department either. 

 

Pacquiao was the world’s 11th highest-paid athlete in 2014, taking home $41.8 million (P1.8 billion) from fights and endorsements. And in 2013, he passed the $300 million (P13.3 billion) mark for the first time in his career with a $30 million purse from the fight against Brandon Rios.

 

 

After Sunday…

 

Forbes estimates that after Sunday, Pacquiao will have earned a total of $425 million in career money. No wonder the BIR’s always hitting him up on taxes.

 

Apart from the prize purse, Pacquiao has earned over $30 million (P1.3 billion) in endorsements. Throughout his career, he has endorsed LBC, Hennessy, San Miguel, Monster Energy, Hewlett-Packard, East West Bank, and Head and Shoulders among others. 

 

In the last six months alone, he netted at least $5 million (P221 million) in deals with Nike and Nestle. His yearly take from endorsements is estimated at $800,000 (P35.4 million).

 

Here’s a breakdown of how much in prize money Pacquiao has so far earned and would be earning from the matchup with Mayweather:

 

 

(These are reported fight earnings, not including all streams of revenue. Sources: Forbes, Wikipedia)

 

The rest of us can only dream of taking home such a paycheck with many zeroes on it!
 

 

 

Mayweather makes even more

 

While Pacquiao’s earnings may seem impressive, Mayweather has made a heck of a lot more. 

 

After shelling out $750,000 (P33 million) to get out of his Top Rank contract, Mayweather’s been raking in the dough… non-stop – even without endorsements. 

 

While Pacquiao was the 11th-highest earning athlete in 2011, Mayweather topped the same list at $105 million (P4.6 billion) – meaning the American boxer earned more than fellow superstars like Kobe Bryant and Cristiano Ronaldo (Football). 

 

Mayweather was the first athlete in history, besides Tiger Woods, to close a calendar year with over $100 million (P4.4 billion) in earnings. His total earnings before the Pacquiao fight? $420 million (P18.6 billion)! 

 

Add the $200 million (P8.8 billion) Mayweather expects to make from the Pacquiao fight and the figure easily swells to $620 million (P27.4 billion).

 

How does Mayweather make so much money? 

 

After turning into a free agent, he organized his own fights. Rather than taking an upfront fee, he goes for the backend; and because he has no promoter – he’s essentially his own promoter – Mayweather gets to keep more of the money for himself. As Greg Bishop put it in the New York Times back in 2011:

 

“He earns a percentage of every ticket purchased, every pretzel consumed, every poster sold. He will earn from countries that paid for broadcasting rights and the theaters where the fight is shown. Mayweather, regarded as one of the best boxers in history, fights under a highly unusual financial structure, exchanging upfront risk for back-end profit while retaining total control.”

 

 

Think of the $750,000 to get out of his Top Rank contract as a good investment. Mayweather’s made around 500 times that already, given that he’s earned most of his more than $420 million after negotiating his way out of his contract. That’s an unbelievable ROI!

 

In 10 consecutive fights Mayweather earned at least $25 million (P1.1 billion) each. His $80 million (P3.5 billion) bout against Saul Alvarez in 2013 broke the record for the highest-earning fight at that time. 

 

After Sunday’s fight Pacquiao will reach $425 million in prize money, but Mayweather already made at least that much last year. And all that without a single dollar from endorsements.

 

Not only is the American boxer one of the best of all time, he’s also one of the most financially savvy. 

 

Some of Mayweather’s highest-earning fights:

 

(These are reported fight earnings, not including all streams of revenue. Sources: Forbes, Wikipedia)

 

From the fight against Pacquiao alone, Mayweather will top the highest yearly earnings ever by any athlete. Right now, the record holder is Tiger Woods for $125 million (P5.5 billion) in 2008. 

 

Despite the Forbes’ estimate of $150 million (P6.6 billion) for slugging it out with Pacquiao this Sunday, Mayweather reckons he’ll actually make much more than that. "I’ll make upwards of $200M for this fight, which is $50M (P2.2 billion) apiece for my kids. So it was a smart move,” he said in an interview with BBC.

 

No matter what happens on Sunday, both boxers are going home with huge, record-busting purses. And while Mayweather may win the battle of the wallets, here’s hoping that Pacquiao wins the battle in the ring. Go Manny!

 

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Who’s Earned More? first appeared in slightly different form on iMoney.ph.