In a deal that has shocked the boxing world, Floyd Mayweather has signed a six fight deal that will last 2½ years with Showtime/CBS. It means that Mayweather who had been with HBO is moving to Showtime. His first fight with Showtime/CBS will occur in May in a pay per view event.
Showtime says this is a revenue sharing deal that could lead to the most lucrative contract in boxing history if all of the parameters are met.
We have details from Showtime.
FLOYD “MONEY” MAYWEATHER INKS RECORD-BREAKING DEAL WITH SHOWTIME®/CBS
LAS VEGAS (Feb. 19, 2013) – Undefeated eight-time world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather, boxing’s pound-for-pound king and the highest paid athlete in the world (Forbes, 2012), has entered into a groundbreaking pay-per-view deal with Showtime Networks Inc. and its parent company, CBS Corporation. Under the new deal, SHOWTIME PPV® will collaborate with CBS Corporation to comprehensively promote Mayweather’s events on the CBS Television Network and via the corporation’s expansive media platforms.
The deal—a unique revenue-sharing arrangement between SHOWTIME PPV and Mayweather—will enable him to fight up to six times over a period of 30 months, with the first mega-event taking place on May 4, 2013, when Mayweather will fight Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero. More details of this upcoming event will be announced shortly.
Mayweather’s new deal is by far the biggest in the sport of boxing (specific financial details are contractually confidential). Mayweather is the PPV king and averages over 1 million PPV buys per event, which is the highest PPV buy average of any boxer in history. At this record-setting PPV performance level, if all six fights contemplated by this deal occur, it will be the richest individual athlete deal in all of sports.
That will do it.
