Floyd Mayweather Jr. Earned $105 Million Last Year, World’s Highest Paid Athlete
Floyd Mayweather Jr’s nickname is “Money,” and he certainly lived up to that by earning $105 million over the last year which put him on top as highest paid athlete for the second time in three years, according to Forbes.
He has made at least $25 million for each of his past nine fights going back to 2007, defeating Oscar De La Hoya in the most watched bout in history of boxing pay-per-view events.
Mayweather has earned about $400 million in the ring since he turned pro in 1996. He is the second athlete to break $100 million threshold in one year, which is amazing considering he has no endorsement contracts. Tiger Woods was the first to break $100 million in a year.
The Grand Rapids, MI native earned all the money in 12 months fighting Canelo Alvarez and Marcos Maidana. The bout against Canelo in September set a record for highest PPV gross ($150 million), gate receipts ($20 million) and total revenue ($200 million).
Mayweather signed a 30-month six fight deal with Showtime in 2013. He earned a guaranteed $32 million for the May fight with Maidana.
If Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao ever match up, that fight would likely smash PPV records, something rare for non-heavyweight bouts. Many fans want to see that fight, but if it doesn’t happen soon (and it likely won’t), it will probably never happen. Mayweather is not a kid anymore; he turned 37 in February.
Mayweather has never been defeated, boasting a career record of 43-0 with 26 knockouts. He has won titles in five different weight classes.
Mayweather stands a good chance of maintaining his top position for 2015 if he fights twice of the next year as expected. Those fights will occur without Golden Boy Promotions, as his camp decided to sever ties with the company, according to ESPN.
“Mayweather Promotions” CEO Leonard Ellerbe said “Mayweather Promotions will continue to promote Floyd’s fights and Floyd will continue to put on the biggest fights in boxing. I have a tremendous team and staff and we continue to expand year by year and we’re ready to go.”
Cristiano Ronaldo came in second on the list with $80 million. LeBron James ($72.3 million), Lionel Messi ($64.7 million), and Kobe Bryant ($61.5million) rounded out the top-five. Woods fell to sixth earning $61.2 million.
Mayweather is not universally liked by those in boxing or some of it’s fans, but is a huge draw, and possibly the only true superstar in the sport.
Living in Las Vegas, Mayweather has been known to make some huge bets. There were “reports” he bet $10.4 million on the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl, a report that has been debunked.
Mayweather’s next fight is in September against a yet to be named opponent.
[Image via ESPN]
