The much-anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul proved to make both stars millions thanks to a massive turnout on pay-per-view.
Part exhibition match, part media spectacle, the June 6 boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul generated impressive interest from fans of the undefeated boxing champion and followers of the social media star — despite failing to deliver the big knockout many had hoped for.
According to unofficial numbers leaked to Sportico, the fight drew approximately one million pay-per-view purchases on Showtime and Fanmio. At $49.99 a pop, that puts the total PPV revenue estimates from the bout at upwards of $50 million.
Showtime also set a record for most new subscriptions in a single day, and interest in the fight was so strong in fact that it led to outages on Showtime’s PPV service and its streaming apps.
While not in the same arena as the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Fight in 2015 that drew 4.6 million pay-per-view buys in the United States on Showtime, the matchup proved to be money in the bank for both Mayweather and Paul.
How Much Did Paul and Mayweather Make on Their Fight?
It’s difficult to gauge exactly how much both fighters will end up making once every last check is cashed — especially factoring in appearance, endorsement deals, and maybe even the equity in the gaudy Pokemon card chain Paul wore during walkouts.
So, let’s make some informed estimates.
An early glance at the money behind the match had Mayweather potentially making as much as $100 million once PPV money was settled, with Paul pegged at upwards of $20 million.
Floyd earned a guaranteed $10 million salary simply for showing up to the fight. He took at least another $30 million from endorsements, plus a reported 50% split of the PPV gross. If we use one million buys as our official number, this will mean Mayweather can expect another $25 million into his bank account — not including whatever other money-making schemes the master showman has up his sleeve.
All told, that means Floyd Mayweather made at least $65 million to fight Paul.
According to the official stats, that’s more than $300,000 per punch thrown.
His opponent, on the other hand, was reportedly set to earn a minimum salary of $250,000 and 10% of the pay-per-view money. Based on this math, Logan Paul made no less than $5.25 million from the 24-minute spectacle.
Not even factoring in any endoresement deals, that comes out to $12,000 per punch thrown.
For Floyd, still one of the top earners in all in all of sports, the matchup proved to be a little light (and perhaps anticlimactic) work for a very, very big payday. With salaries like this still available to him, we certainly haven’t seen the last of the undefeated champ in the ring, particularly when it comes to eight-round spectacles with no judges and no official winners.
For Paul, the fight means not only a few more millions in the bank, but the potential for more money-making matchups down the road.
Boxing purists may not like it, but attracting a million pairs of eyes for a Sunday night exhibition is no small feat. And it’s one that promoters and TV networks will surely attempt to repeat as many times as possible in the months and years to come.
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