Mayweather vs. Berto Purse: Known Prize Money Payout Distribution
Floyd Mayweather and Andre Berto did battle in the final fight of Mayweather's storied career on Saturday night. After winning via unanimous decision over Berto, Mayweather announced his retirement, via Bryan Armen Graham of the Guardian.
If this really is it, the pound-for-pound king is going out with a lot of money in his pocket.ย
Mayweather's star power has made his fights huge business for everyone involvedโthe fighters, promoters, venue, etc. This showdown against Berto was no different, though it is a drastic comedown from the money involved with May's Manny Pacquiao matchup.ย
What We Know
While official figures for the fight won't be known until the pay-per-view buyrate comes out, Martin Rogers of BoxingJunkie.com noted Mayweather could be eyeing a $60 million payday when all is said and done.ย
In terms of Mayweather's guarantee, ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reported the payout to be a minimum of $32 million. That's before pay-per-view revenue, sponsorship money and live-gate receipts even get factored in.ย
Whatever the final figures end up being, Mayweather is looking at a stellar financial year. He recently ranked No. 1 onย Forbes' list of highest-paid celebrities with approximately $300 million covering his second Maidana fight in September 2014 and May bout with Pacquiao.ย
For perspective on how bankable Mayweather is, Pacquiao ranked second on the list with approximately $160 million made, and Katy Perry is the highest-grossing non-athlete on the list at No. 3 with $135 million in earnings.
Mayweather has slightly altered his marketing stance for fights, as he normally doesn't do personal endorsements.ย
Daniel Roberts ofย Fortune reported after Mayweather's fight with Pacquiao that FanDuel, Hublot and Burger King each paid $1 million to sponsor the undefeated megastar.ย
Saturday's fight marks the end of Mayweather's six-fight contract with Showtime Sports, signed in February 2013, with Kurt Badenhausen ofย Forbesย writing at the time of the deal that the network was likely guaranteeing "Money" around $200 million.ย
Berto's payout, while not official, figures to come in around the $4 million guaranteed mark that recent Mayweather opponent Marcos Maidana received for their second fight in September 2014.ย
While that's certainly not at the same level of what Mayweather will receive, it's a huge step up from what Berto has made in the past.ย
Lance Pugmire of theย Los Angeles Times reported Berto's payout in November 2012 for his fight with Robert Guerrero:
Even though Berto wasn't going to be crying poverty, even a loss to Mayweather does his career some good because of the national exposure and career-high paycheck it brings.ย
Despite the huge disparity in pay, Mayweather and Berto will take a lot more away from their matchup on Saturday night than just those 36 minutes spent in the ring. Money is a driving factor in sports today, with few individual athletes owning the market like Mayweather.ย
