Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Money Doesn't Make You Popular

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the greatest boxer of his generation and the highest grossing athlete on the planet.  Without question his skills are extra ordinary and his flamboyant lifestyle has been well documented.  Whether it's eating with 24 karat cutlery, sporting $3,000,000 cuff links, or traveling with an entourage and $1,000,000 in cash everyone knows Floyd is all about money.  The thing you may not know is all of the accolades, accomplishments, earning potential, and athletic superiority doesn't make him the least bit popular.

According to Sports Illustrated Floyd Mayweather Jr. made $30,000,000 more than the 2nd highest paid athlete (LeBron James), but he did it with no endorsements.  If the statement is true that is a startling fact.  Companies ask you to endorse their product because they know people are drawn to your persona and the positive effects that come with your name and fame.  If you have no endorsements that means there is an extremely negative connotation associated with you and people don't really like you.

Sure they are impressed with what you can do on the court or in the ring, but that's where it ends.  The pay-per-view numbers for a Floyd Mayweather fight boggle the mind.  Millions of viewers tune in to watch him cave someone's face in with straight rights, but after the fight they want nothing to do with him.  Conversely other athlete are able to cash in on their celebrity status because they have likable qualities.  Even those athletes that find themselves in hot water at some point in their career (Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods) can eventually win back the public's sentiment.  Floyd Mayweather Jr. has no ability to do that.

As you all know I'm a big Mayweather fan, but I must admit I was shocked to find out he makes no endorsement revenue.  Perhaps that says more about him than all the negative publicity, ridiculous tweets, and character bashing stories combined.  Good thing he's a hell of a fighter.  If he had to make money based on his public persona there's a good chance he'd be broke.

2 comments:

  1. rest assured, he will be broke eventually anyway. no boxer gets endorsement deals because boxing is dirty and all the money has moved to the MMA rings.

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    1. Thanks for the read. Floyd is scheduled to make over $200,000,000 in the next 30 months. He might be able to hold on to that much money.

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