The Money Man: Mayweather set to join billionaire athletes club
Floyd Mayweather Jr. lived up to his ‘Money’ moniker in Saturday’s fight against Conor McGregor, raking in an estimated $300 million which will see him join the billionaire athlete’s club, Forbes reports.
READ MORE: Mayweather TKOs McGregor in 10th round of The Money Fight
Mayweather improved his professional record to 50-0 by stopping McGregor in round 10 of what he later stated was his final fight inside the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The multi-weight world champion has already grossed $700 million throughout his illustrious career, that number including ticket sales, pay-per-view and fight endorsements.
According to CNN Money, CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe says Mayweather should join basketball star Michael Jordan and golfer Tiger Woods as the first athletes to make more than $1 billion after pocketing his earnings from Saturday’s fight.
In his own field, Mayweather has become the richest fighter in the history of boxing.
With the win, Mayweather also moved past heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0. His earnings also received a huge cash injection with the winnings from a $750,000 bet placed on himself ahead of Saturday’s fight.
Mayweather became his own promoter in 2006 when he paid the same figure to trigger a buyout clause in his contract with promotional company Top Rank, from then on organizing his own business under the Mayweather Promotions brand.
He pocketed $3 million for his first pay-per-view fight against Arturo Gatti in 2005 and then earned $25 million for his victory over Oscar De La Hoya two years later.
Champion Predictions: I'm gonna make a $hit t$n of money on August 26th. I'm gonna make a $hit t$n of money on...https://t.co/0LtLXVZejvpic.twitter.com/ZsHKSYYikV
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) July 27, 2017
His 2013 fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, the first of a six-fight deal with broadcasting giant Showtime, broke PPV revenue records with $153 million, of which Mayweather netted $30 million on top of his guaranteed $41.5 million fight purse, another record.
When Mayweather faced off against Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao in 2015, another record-setting bout, he pocketed nearly $250 million. In all from his Showtime deal, Mayweather earned an estimated $450 million.
The $300 million expected to be bagged by the 40-year-old fighter after his victory over Irishman McGregor is set to propel him to the sporting billionaire’s club.
Already long-time members of the club are Jordan, who made $93 million during an NBA playing career most famously spent at the Chicago Bulls, with whom he became a sporting icon.
His lucrative sponsorship deals - including a lifetime agreement with Nike and his ownership of NBA outfit the Charlotte Hornets - put him onto the Forbes list of billionaires, on which he appeared for the first time in 2015.
Former golf world number one Woods amassed enough career earnings to put him on that same exclusive list in 2009, although his troubles off the golf course have seen his stock fall in recent years.
