Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao: Expected Earnings from May Fight Revealed

The May 2 bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao may not have lived up to the hype, but both fighters are reaping massive financial rewards from the contest. 

According to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael and Darren Rovell, even though final numbers have not been released, the two superstars are going to split roughly $370-380 million:

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A source with knowledge of the pay-per-view numbers, which still are not final but have been reported on to a point where a number can be called, told ESPN.com that Mayweather's total for the May 2 fight against Manny Pacquiao will add up to between $220 million and $230 million. Based on the agreed-to 60-40 split, Pacquiao could wind up earning a little north of $150 million, which would be roughly equivalent to the on-court career earnings of LeBron James.

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Rafael and Rovell also used an NBA equivalent to compare what Mayweather is expected to earn, noting that San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan has made $235 million over 18 NBA seasons. 

Mayweather, who won the fight by unanimous decision to put his career record at 48-0, was always going to come out well ahead of Pacquiao because of how the split was set up.

However, as Rafael and Rovell also pointed out, the gap will be more significant than just these numbers show because Pacquiao has to pay Top Rank and promoter Bob Arum their fee before he can cash his check. 

The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was always expected to do huge business, which it wound up doing with 4.4 million pay-per-view buys and more than $72 million in gate takings. 

It's safe to say that Mayweather, Pacquiao and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas got everything they could have hoped for financially from this bout.