Manny Pacquiao turned down $40 million from Floyd Mayweather in 2012, and it was a genius move
Mayweather, in what he would later call Pacquiao's last chance to make the fight, offered Pacquiao $40 million straight-up to fight him.
"I got on the phone with Manny. I done my homework, and seen what he was used to making in big fights. So the offer that I gave him. I offered him $40 million, and said that I would wire him $20 million within 72 hours," Mayweather told Bob Costa in March of 2012.
Pacquiao turned it down and asked for a 50-50 revenue split instead, Mayweather says.
"I'm not giving up the split. I'm not. I can't. I can't afford to," Mayweather told Costas.
That $40 million offer was widely panned as an insult to Manny. But still, $40 million was double what Pacquiao typically makes per fight. In addition, Pacquiao couldn't have known if he'd ever get another chance to fight Mayweather. Floyd would have made out like a bandit (he would have controlled 100% of revenue minus Pacquiao's $40 million fee), but you couldn't have criticized Pacquiao for agreeing to the biggest purse of his career.
Three years later, Pacquiao stands to make more than double what Floyd offered him in 2012. While Mayweather gets a 60-40 revenue split, Pacquiao still gets a cut of total revenue (PPV buys, ticket sales, everything). Forbes estimates that he'll make between $80 million and $120 million on May 2. The New York Times has Pacquiao's number at "well over $100 million."
Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, told the New York Times that Manny will get the first installment of his purse on Monday, two days after the fight, in a form of a check that's bigger than Mayweather's entire offer in 2012.
"On Monday morning, I will hand Manny a check for $50 million as a down payment, guaranteed," Arum said.
It's possible that Pacquiao could have made more if he agreed to a fight in 2010. Back then, Mayweather agreed to a 50-50 revenue split before Pacquiao pulled out of negotiations because he wouldn't agree to Mayweather's rigorous drug testing guidelines.
But compared to the 2012 offer that Mayweather later claimed would be his last offer, he made a smart move by waiting Floyd out and betting he'd come back with a better offer eventually.