According to the Thomas Hauser’s article in The Guardian, the deal to bring Zuffa Boxing to Paramount was $100M.
You may recall that Paramount/Skydance acquired the media rights for the UFC this year for a deal reported at $1.1 billion a year for 7 years. The deal was for the domestic rights to the UFC which would include all former PPV events and Fight Night events. We now know the entire fight library of UFC events has moved to the streaming platform. Several weeks later, it was announced that Paramount/Skydance acquired Zuffa Boxing although a number was not mentioned. This article now sets the amount at $100 million for 12 fight cards.
As of this writing, Zuffa Boxing has had 2 fight cards at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. There are 10 fights to go and while Dana White announced that the promotion will have events outside of the complex but nothing certain.
Payout Perspective:
In all honesty, the two cards did not quantify the purported purchase by Paramount. One has to wonder if the purchase amount did not include something else attached to it. While there is buzz that White is trying to sign heavyweight Oleksanr Usyk for a fight to take place during Mexican Independence Day weekend, nothing has materialized. . Its clear that White will coerce (with $) Terence Crawford to come out of retirement. The promotion is inferring that it has bigger plans later this year although nothing has been announced
There has to be something else included for this lofty price tag otherwise it was a massive overpay.
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