Pacquiao endorsements reeling in big bucks

Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be making more money inside the ring, but Manny Pacquiao has already knocked out his opponent in terms of commercial endorsements.

According to a Forbes report, Pacquiao has bagged various endorsements over the past six months while Mayweather has opted not to earn any money from endorsements.

Pacquiao has sealed a deal with Nike and Nestle, which would bring the Filipino boxing champion at least $5 million in total.

Butterfinger, owned by Swiss food giant Nestle, launched this April a digital ad campaign with Pacquiao for its Butterfinger Cups brand.

The report also said Wonder Pistachio is planning major campaigns for Pacquiao.

It added that corporate giant Nike would unveil a new line of Pacquiao apparel.

“It will be available exclusively at Foot Locker, Nike.com and Nike stores on the West Coast, where Pacquiao’s U.S. fan base is the biggest. Pacquiao’s royalties on the apparel line and his sponsor deals in the Philipines will push his 12-month endorsement income well over $5 million,” the report said.

Top Rank’s Lucia McKelvey, meanwhile, said that “most companies are apprehensive about boxing, but they love Manny Pacquiao.”

McKelvey said that if Pacquiao wins, “things could go really crazy.”

Mayweather, however, doesn’t seem to be bothered by Pacquiao getting endorsements left and right.

“Mayweather wears his lack of endorsements almost like a badge of courage. It keeps him from being beholden to any company, and Mayweather says he would rather have a piece of the action in any deal where he is involved,” the report said.

Mayweather was the highest-paid athlete in the world between June 2013 and June 2014 with $105 million in earnings.

But the Forbes report said “not a dime of that was from endorsements.” CC