Floyd Mayweather will gross between $220 million and $230 million for his May 2 fight against Manny Pacquiao, but how much will he really make for his welterweight championship victory?
It's hard to tell what his net income will come out to, but we'll start with taxes. Sports tax accountant Robert Raiola of O'Connor Davies estimates that as a Nevada resident, and obviously in the highest tax bracket on the federal level, $88.9 million in taxes will come out. That assumes that he deducts five percent of that $220 million ($11 million) on fees such as training costs. That would leave him a net of $131 million before paying out his employees.
Because Mayweather owns his own business in Mayweather Promotions, he's not paying the same promotion fees that Pacquiao has to pay to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and Top Rank itself, which will likely come out to tens of millions of dollars. Mayweather can also attribute business expenses generally associated with Mayweather Promotions to further deduct expenses from his gross total. Although there is no limit on deductions, they have to be considered reasonable according to Internal Revenue Service standards.
Mayweather also likely generated millions of dollars in merchandising. Hats in the MGM Grand hotel lobby cost $50 and up, and the store was mobbed on fight weekend. While there were items with both Mayweather and Pacquiao, the majority of sales were for Mayweather "The Money Team" items.
Mayweather has filed for more trademarks than any athlete in history. He owns 16 trademarks and has more than 120 trademark applications pending.
Taxes and fees aside, it's an unprecedented payout. Based on the total time of fighting over 12 rounds, Mayweather earned $6,111,111.11 a minute, which breaks down to $101,851.85 a second. In an effort to put $220 million into perspective, consider the following list as a way to wrap your mind around it.
Mayweather's payout figure ...
• Exceeds value of at least three NHL franchises, according to Forbes -- the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers.
• Exceeds the current payroll of every team in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, with the exception of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Is more than seven times the highest salary in MLB this season -- which belongs to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
• Is more than all but seven of the richest playing contracts in North American sports history.
• Exceeds the construction and renovation costs of at least three -- and possibly as many as seven -- stadiums used for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
• Exceeds the gross domestic product of Kiribati, an island nation in the Pacific with a population of more than 100,000.
• Is nearly $100 million more than what Michael Jordan earned in salary over his playing career (adjusted for inflation).
• Is more than seven times the amount the New York Mets will pay former player Bobby Bonilla in deferred compensation from 2011 to 2035.
• Exceeds the U.S. box office gross of all but 10 motion pictures in 2014.
• Is more than four times the amount the Grateful Dead will gross in ticket sales for its five reunion concerts this year.
All that for 36 minutes of labor. Nice work if you can get it.
ESPN.com Sports Business reporter Darren Rovell contributed to this report.