Images via Wenn
This past weekend the majority of us were glued (or not) to television sets ready to view the fight of the century between Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. With numerous celebrity sightings and Mayweather collecting the championship as soon as the fight started, many are wondering: How much did the Las Vegas’ Fight Night weekend gross?
According to CBS Sports, it took 60 seconds for tickets to sell out when made available to the public. Ninety-eight percent of Las Vegas’s MGM Grand Hotel occupants attended the fight and the minimum room rate at the MGM was $1,600. It is reported the same rooms would cost $200 per night during a regular weekday/weekend.
Approximately $13.2 million of sponsorship money was spent by just five advertisers. In total, the event raked in more than $74 million in tickets, $14 million more than the Super Bowl. It is estimated that $500 million of revenue from tickets, pay-per-view sales, concessions and merchandise was earned from the fight.
The Los Angeles Times reported the cheapest tickets were selling for $2,462.25 and the most expensive tickets, $40,955.25. The New York Times says Mayweather was paid $179,808,511 and Pacquiao earned $119,872,340. Both boxers agreed to split their $300 million fight prize 60/40.
So the event had glamour, fame and money, but support for the boxers themselves was in less supply, primarily because of tabloid news about their personal lives. Mayweather has served jail time and was under house arrest for domestic violence charges; Pacquiao believes women should not have access to contraception or abortions. The Daily Telegraph reporter Caroline Zielinski stated in her piece, “Forget Mayweather vs Pacquiao, It’s Domestic Violence VS Women’s Rights“:
“It appears that the world’s obsessions with sport and athletes goes beyond public responsibility, and even surpasses basic human rights. Women are afforded little to no thought or respect, and those men we deem as the ideal representation of masculinity continue to get away with crimes which are so abhorrent and determinately to society. It is completely mind boggling.”
With much of the attention from the fight shifting to how both boxers treat women, it appears the sports industry has not found a balance between how athletes live outside of their profession(s) and if that should even be a factor in how much they are paid.
Do you think athletes should be held financially accountable for their personal beliefs or actions?
