Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated MMA hero Conor McGregor back in August in what was known as “The Money Fight.” Now, the undefeated 11-time boxing world champ is throwing his support behind Playtrex’s social media app Wild Poker.
Wild Poker, which is available for free in both the App Store and on Google Play, marks the mobile gaming debut of Floyd Mayweather, who joins forces with Hero Digital Entertainment and Playtrex. According to a press release, Wild Poker offers no-limit hold’em with a twist, which “adds elements of strategy and adventure such as real-time decision-making, power-ups, journey, character development and more to increase the fun and overall exhilaration factor.”
Name Recognition
The characters mentioned are different animals such as a giraffe, shark, and chimpanzee, just to name a few. The further players progress, the more animals and skills they unlock. It’s reminiscent of PokerStars’ new “Power Up” game that launched last month. However, unlike that game, Wild Poker has one of the biggest names in sports supporting it.
“As soon as I saw Wild Poker, I knew I wanted to become part of it,” Mayweather said. “I’m constantly asked to put my name on stuff, but Wild Poker is different than any game I’ve ever seen.”
For his part, Floyd Mayweather will be in the game as both presenter and as a character. Regarding the former, he will offer players tips on how to best play the game, though he doesn’t really have a poker résumé that warrants him dispersing poker wisdom.
Big Spend on Free Poker
So, what could inspire Mayweather to lend his name to an unproven startup such as Wild Poker?
The answer to that may never be known, but it’s hard to imagine it’s all about money. Throughout his career, Mayweather, certainly the best boxer of his generation and maybe of all time, has generated $1.3 billion in revenue, which comes from more than just fight prizes, endorsement deals, and 19.5 pay-per-view buys.
On four different occasions, he’s been named the highest paid athlete in the world.
According to a 2016 Forbes article, the man nicknamed “Money” earned $32 million in his fight against Andre Berto, which was supposed to be his retirement fight. That brought his career earnings up to $700 million, more than 20 times what Daniel Negreanu has made as the world’s most successful live tournament poker player of all time, with more than $34 million in career winnings.
However, Mayweather came out of “retirement” to fight Manny Pacquiao, which earned him approximately $250 million, and then his fight against McGregor awarded him at least another $100 million (exact figures are unknown because both fighters signed confidentiality agreements).
The only other athletes to cross $1 billion during their careers were Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
To his credit, Mayweather hasn’t been quick to put his name on just anything. According to Fortune magazine, part of that might be due to his baseline sponsor entry, which costs $1 million. If that holds true, it means he was paid at least that much to hitch his trailer to WildPoker.
Despite his controversial past, which includes a charge of domestic battery, Mayweather has previously been associated with such brands as Burger King, FanDuel, and watchmaker Hublot.
