ARLINGTON, Texas — The Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight at AT&T Stadium last week was a spectacle, and the numbers showed.
Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), the promoter which Paul co-owns, announced Tuesday morning that the official gate for the fight was $18,117,072. Friday night's fight card shattered the Texas record for combat sports – both boxing and MMA – by more than doubling the next highest gate: Canelo Álvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders, which drew $9 million.
It was the biggest gate for any boxing or MMA event outside of Las Vegas, and the ninth-highest combat sports gate ever in U.S. history.
The average ticket price for Paul-Tyson was $304. For Álvarez-Saunders, that figure was $136, per MVP.
Even with the $18.1 million figure, neither side, nor Netflix, have officially disclosed how much the fighters are getting paid for the fight.
Reports have indicated that Paul was getting $40 million just for getting in the ring, and that Tyson was set to take home $20 million of his own. Paul mentioned the $40 million in a previous press conference -- and then offered to bet his purse at the pre-fight press conference this week.
"I'm here to make $40 million and knock out a legend," Paul said at a press conference in August.
Part of the purse for the fighters will come from what Netflix paid to have exclusive streaming rights, in addition to the announced $18.1 million gate.
USA Today reported that boxing industry experts estimated Tyson's take-home to be $20 million, although Tyson didn't confirm that number when he was being interviewed by Jimmy Kimmel earlier this year.
The fight also broke streaming records, per MVP, drawing in a peak 65 million households on Netflix, despite technical difficulties.
"Paul vs. Tyson and Taylor vs. Serrano 2 rewrote the record books, solidifying Most Valuable Promotions as a trailblazer in combat sports," said Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions. "From setting the highest gate outside of Las Vegas in U.S. history for a combat sports event to becoming the most streamed sporting event in U.S. history, this event is a testament to the global impact of Jake Paul, Mike Tyson, Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano, and the incredible athletes on this card. We’re proud to have partnered with Netflix to deliver an event that brought fans together worldwide and broke many records. The UFC, which I believe to be the greatest combat sports organization of all time, has been in business for 30+ years and they have never put on an event of this magnitude. We established MVP three years ago and are just getting started. This is what it means to push the boundaries of what’s possible in sports entertainment. Congratulations and thank you to our team and our fans."
Numerous celebrities came out to AT&T Stadium for the fight, including Evander Holyfield, Shaquille O'Neal, Sugar Ray Leonard, Jerry Jones, Charlize Theron, Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Josh Duhamel, Joe Jonas, Joe Manganiello, Lennox Lewis, Rob Gronkowski, Mike Epps, Simu Liu, Daddy Yankee, Anderson Silva, Tom Segura, Jeff Ross, Joey Fatone, and more.
Here are the highest combat sports gates in Texas history, according to stats provided by MVP:
- Paul vs. Tyson: $18.1 million (59,666 tickets sold) – Nov. 14, 2024 at AT&T Stadium
- Alvarez vs. Saunders: $9 million (66,065 tickets sold)– May 8, 2021 at AT&T Stadium
- Pacquiao vs. Clottey: $6.35 million (36,371 tickets sold) – March 13, 2010 at AT&T Stadium
- Pacquiao vs. Margarito: $5.4 million (30,347 tickets sold) – Nov. 13, 2010 at AT&T Stadium
- Alvarez vs. Smith: $5.03 million (46,115 tickets sold) – Sept. 17, 2016 at AT&T Stadium
- Spence vs. Ugas: $5 million (37,022 tickets sold) – April 15, 2022 at AT&T Stadium
- UFC 277: $4.45 million (19,442 tickets sold) – July 30, 2022 at American Airlines Center
- UFC 271: $4.3 million (17,872 tickets sold) – Feb. 12 2022 at Toyota Center
- UFC 247: $3.54 million (17,401 tickets sold) – Feb. 8 2020 at Toyota Center
- Spence vs. Danny Garcia: $2.61 million (14,508 tickets sold) – Dec. 5, 2020 at AT&T Stadium
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