If press conferences were tallied by judges, score the opening round for the highly-anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor would’ve been tough to call.
During Tuesday’s inaugural presser, the two trash-talking fighters faced-off in Los Angeles to officially begin the hype train for their upcoming boxing match. Many of the barbs traded were filled with four- and five-letter words that cannot be republished in this family newspaper.
Both fighters came out swinging. McGregor mocked Mayweather’s alleged IRS problems, his excessive rules on which gloves are prohibited for the fight and Mayweather’s limited number of knockouts. Mayweather countered with his usual “Money” talk, discussed his perfection in the ring and called McGregor “Mr. Tap Out” in reference to his three MMA losses via submission.
To nobody’s surprise, McGregor, who once called Nate Diaz a “little cholo gangster from the hood,” infused race bigotry into his trash talk.
“Dance for me, boy!” McGregor shouted at Mayweather, who was shadowboxing at the time. “Dance for me, son!”
Mayweather didn’t take the bait. Instead he went to his backpack and pulled out a $100 million check. The press conference was crass, sometimes corny, but entertaining. The traveling circus will continue to Toronto, Brooklyn and London this week.
Though McGregor was a little more skilled with his trash-talking delivery and wittier with his verbal jabs, he doesn’t stand a chance when the two superstars meet in the ring on Aug. 26. Despite all the talk, expect McGregor to be embarrassed inside the ring against Mayweather.
Much like former boxing great James “Lights Out” Toney had no business fighting Randy Couture in the UFC Octagon in 2010, McGregor doesn’t belong in a boxing ring with Mayweather. Toney tapped out in just 3:19 into the first-round versus Couture. McGregor will likely last longer, but will ultimately end up looking just as foolish.
Surveying the scene, MMA fans seem stoked for the fight. Boxing fans seem more dismissive. Still, due to the fighters’ larger-than-life personalities, millions of fans will happily plop down $99.95 (HD) for the PPV. Thousands of die-hard fans will drop thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to be in attendance in Las Vegas.
Estimates for Mayweather’s take range from $200-400M for the fight. Meanwhile, McGregor is expected to earn $75-$126M. The only other fight with such staggering earnings was Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao.
Fans were very disappointed in the actual fight between “Money” and “Pac-Man.” In the ring, McGregor will be much more aggressive than Pacquiao was. However, judging by the training tapes that have been released to the public, McGregor is simply too slow, too green and not skilled enough to have any type of chance at beating Mayweather. The fight will truly be easy money.
NFL contract envy
NBA free agency is a time where NFL stars have to avert their eyes to avoid the glare of the bright, shiny NBA contracts.
In 2017, Derek Carr will be the NFL’s highest paid player. The Oakland Raiders QB will earn $25M in the upcoming season. At least 15 players in the NBA will eclipse the $25M mark during the 2017-18 season.
Furthermore, quarterbacks are generally the only NFL players that make NBA money. Le’Veon Bell has the largest contract for running backs at $12.1M. That’s around the same amount of money that Jeremy Lin and Wilson Chandler earn in the NBA.
A big reason that NBA players break the bank is because team’s only field a 15-man roster compared to the 53-man rosters in the NFL. However, the NFL earns approximately $16 billion in revenue while the NBA earns approximately $8 billion.
Most of the NBA’s contracts are mostly-guaranteed, with team-options sometimes tacked onto the end. In the NFL, players can often be cut at any time. Only the signing bonuses are guaranteed. This means when a NFL player signs one of those gaudy $100M deals, they are often only assured to receive $20M or so.
Stephen Curry agreed to a five-year, $201M supermax contract a few weeks ago and will earn every penny, even if the Warriors decided to cut him.
Part of the reason guys like Chandler Parsons and Steven Adams will be earning more than $20M this year is because the NBA has a ceiling on how much money star players such as Curry or LeBron James can earn. That means the middle class in the NBA eats pretty good.
Although fans love to complain that athletes earn “too much” money, since sports generates such an enormous amount of revenue, the players deserve to earn their fair share. Instead of gawking with envy, NFL players need to waltz over to the National Basketball Players Association (NBAPA) offices and get some tips on how to gain more leverage during the next round of contract negotiations between the owners and the players.
Otherwise, we’ll being to see the Ezekiel Elliotts, Odell Beckham Jrs. and Antonio Browns heading towards the hardwood instead of the gridiron. Actually, the NBA isn’t the only option. Just look at 6-foot-8 offensive tackle outfielder Aaron Judge tearing it up in the MLB.
If the NFL doesn’t step up its player contract game, expect the elite talent to turn to other, safer and more (financially) secure options.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk
