Forbes.com is predicting that Floyd Mayweather Jr. will break the record for highest yearly earnings by an athlete (in less than an hour!) on May 2nd and yet, they somehow still seem to underestimate just how much he is expected to earn on that evening, as well as his possible yearly total. That’s not a knock against Forbes; they did an excellent job in their piece, but this fight is so big, it exceeds all reasonable expectations.
Although Forbes predicted at least $150 million in earnings for Mayweather in his super-fight with Manny Pacquiao, others are predicting about $180 million for Floyd. To put that into perspective, Tiger Woods holds the record for yearly earnings at $125 million (adjusted for inflation). Floyd is looking to dwarf that number in one night!
It gets even crazier. That’s before the halfway point of the year. Floyd is also expected to fight again in September and while his chosen opponent is still far from being determined there is every possibility that he could have a rematch with Pacquiao before years end. If a rematch were indeed in demand, another $100 million or so for Floyd would not be an unreasonable expectation. Yes, Floyd Mayweather Jr. could make nearly $300 million by the end of 2015. That is bananas!
There is plenty of speculation going on here so while I’m at it; I may as well propose an equally ridiculous possibility. If the May 2nd fight exceeds expectations, there is a possibility that both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao can break Tiger Woods’ record in the same night. Throw in another fight later in the year, and you have two boxers sitting on top of the all time yearly earnings list for the foreseeable future. That’s some great PR for boxing!
I recommend checking out the article on Forbes.com, as it contains a lot of great information that I didn’t even get into here. Going into Mayweather-Pacquiao on May 2nd, record breaking is a foregone conclusion. The real question will be by how much will all of these records be shattered?
