Last week, we showed some pictures and video of Floyd Mayweather appearing at WWE No Way Out on pay-per-view.  Since that time, a match between Mayweather and the Big Show has been made "official". 

And if we're to believe Mayweather's manager Leonard Ellerbee and WWE's Shane McMahon, Floyd will be making a cool $20 million for his WrestleMania efforts. 

A $20 million payday awaits the undefeated WBC welterweight champion when he takes on Big Show as part of WWE’s “WrestleMania XXIV” at Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., on March 30.   

“[Mayweather said] Wrestling takes care of business right on the spot.  Whatever they say they’re going to do, they do it right on the spot. There’s no waiting three, four, five months. Quick results, quick money. Quick big money, too.”

Like most things wrestling, this number HAS to be exaggerated, right?  A $20 million payday for a one night performance (and the build leading up to the show) seems a bit excessive.   

History might say otherwise, though.  Last year, WrestleMania 23 sold 1.2 million ppv buys.  The number of buys this year should be substantially higher with the addition of Mayweather.  In the past, the Mayweather/De La Hoya fight generated 2.4 million pay per view buys, so a very slim, thin portion of that audience should dive in to see Mayweather in action. 

For hypothetical's sake, let's say 200,000 new fans buy WrestleMania thanks to Mayweather's involvement, taking the number of WrestleMania buys to 1.4 million.  The additional 200,000 buys would result in, at the least, $10.99 million, or a little more than half of what Mayweather is reportedly earning.  That's because WrestleMania costs $54.95 this year, up from the $49.95 price tag of a year ago.  However, if fans want to purchase the HD version, they're going to have to shell out $69.95.  Some fans will - perhaps many of them - so the $10.9 million figure will be higher to an extent.   

It's all just an estimate by this guy, but if in fact 200,000 "Mayweather people" purchase  WrestleMania, it will more than cover half of what Mayweather makes - not considering the other 1.2 million people ordering the show. 

With the event being held at the Citrus Bowl, an estimated 60,000 plus fans are expected to attend.  Based on last year's tallies, that would result in revenues reaching at least $1.28 million, as last year's WrestleMania averaged $21.37 per cap for each paying customer (for merchandise and the like).  Add to that the box office gross revenue for tickets, which should neighbor somewhere between $5 and $6 million and you've got a little over $6 million from tickets and merchandise sales for the event (last year WWE set a record with a little more than $5.38 million in ticket sales for WrestleMania).

Even with conservative estimates like the ones above, the WWE could make $17 of the $20 million they're reportedly paying Mayweather, and still have 1.2 million pay per view purchases left over to generate some cash.  Obviously with the addition of "non-wrestling" fans ordering the show, WWE will hope to extend their brand beyond the core audience just like they did with Mike Tyson ten years ago.  In the long term, the deal has the potential to be highly beneficial.

I guess what I'm saying is that announcing a $20 million pay day for a one-night boxer performance is believable.  And if the figure is exaggerated?  Then WWE is pretty much guaranteed to make more money with WrestleMania XXIV than any event they've ever produced.  Who would have guessed a company run by that guy could be so profitable?