Sponsorship for Upcoming Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Fight Breaks Records at $13.2 million
The countdown is on for Saturday’s fight between undefeated, five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.
Deemed as ‘The Fight of the Century’ by insiders and fans alike, the faceoff is wrought with the hype of a long and dramatic oppositional build up. Three previous attempts to negotiate a fight between the two heavy hitters were terminated due to the failure of both parties and their representatives to come to an agreement over the terms relating to drug testing, location, and compensation. However on February 20th of this year, Mayweather and Pacquiao finally came to an agreement to fight on May 2, 2015 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The fight is expected to be the most lucrative in history, with boxing experts predicting the match to generate around $400 Million. Much of the $400 Million will be derived from PPV sales that are expected to shatter previous records, and at a cost of US$89.95 for SD and US$99.95 for HD it is easy to see why.
Ticket prices to see the match in-person at the MGM Grand range from $3,500 to $250,000 and are going fast. Yesterday, a floor-side single ticket reportedly sold for $41k on StubHub proving that the upcoming Mayweather vs Pacquiao showdown easily represents the hottest, and most expensive, ticket around.
As one can imagine, the match is a financial boon for the fighters, promoters and Las Vegas in general. According to ESPN reports sponsorship alone is expected to top a record $13.2 million, nearly $10 million more than previous sponsorship records.
The largest of the sponsorship commitments is that of $5.6 million from Tecate, Pacquiano’s traditional sponsor, who bid to beat the $5.2 million offering by Corona, Mayweather’s previous sponsor, to be the official beer of the fight. Considering that in the past, total sponsorship for boxing events capped at around a previously record-setting $4 million, the Teacate deal is a reflection of just how seriously sponsors are valuing the hype surrounding the event.
Tecate is expecting to gain massive exposure and brand awareness by having their logo featured front and center in the middle of the ring mat and adorning all fight signage, posters, and other collaterals such as T-shirts. Tecate beer will also be sold at the arena on the night of the fight.
Other sponsors include the Mexican Tourism Board who are looking to attract travelers and Smart Communications, A Filipino telecom company and long standing sponsor of Pacquiano’s fights. Also involved are Paramount Pictures/Skydance Productions who is promoting two movies, “Terminator Genisys” and “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation”, and The Weinstein Company who is promoting their movie “Southpaw”. Trailers for the new films we been seen between fights on the pay per view telecast.
Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank set the minimum sponsorship bid at $1 million.
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-Erin Beaudoin