Within the business, there is a disbelief that WWE is actually paying boxer Floyd Mayweather $20 million to face The Big Show at Wrestlemania XXIV on 3/30. One person involved directly indicated to Dave Meltzer that Mayweather is actually receiving a $1 to $2 million pay off plus a significant PPV percentage. At the very least, there is an internal resentment from the WWE superstars. There is a belief that the wrestler’s Wrestlemania pay offs will be sizeable smaller this year to pay Mayweather’s fee. Other wrestlers believe the number to be a work. Since WWE is publicly traded company, they can not deceive stock holders. However, it would be possible for Vince McMahon to pay Mayweather $20 million himself, thus not putting his payoff on the company books.
To justify the $20 million figure, WWE would need to generate in the neighborhood of 1.8 million buys to justify the number. Last year’s Wrestlemania did about 1.25 million PPV buys. As noted previously, WWE is charging $54.95 for this year’s Wrestlemania, and $69.95 for the HD broadcast. WWE is hoping to generate more PPV revenue with the increased price tag, but keep in mind that not all countries around the world charge the same, in fact, some charge less that the domestic price tag