EDITORIAL - Money for nothing

The list is out. Manny Pacquiao is the world’s second highest-paid athlete, beating such other household names as Tiger Woods and LeBron James. Floyd Mayweather Jr., appropriately called “Money” is, of course, at the top of the money heap.

The list is based on earnings made in the last 12 months. For his two fights in that period, against Victor Ortiz and Miguel Cotto, Mayweather earned a combined $85 million. Pacquiao also fought twice, against Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley, and earned $62 million.

And that gives rise to an issue that, while not drawing the attention it deserves, should nevertheless now come to the fore, if only because it affects the millions of sports fans the world over.

The issue is about sports fans getting their money’s worth. For the kind of money many athletes are making these days, it should not be too much to demand of these athletes the highest standards of performance money can buy.

In the case of Mayweather, his fights against Diaz and Cotto were slambang affairs, well worth the money people expended to see them. In the Diaz fight, Mayweather threw in a little extra — unsportsmanlike behavior which controversy-loving fans simply lapped up.

By comparison, Pacquiao’s last two fights were ho-hum affairs, certainly way below the expectations of people whose collective interest in the two bouts assured Pacquiao a combined paycheck of $62 million (two billion plus in pesos).

This should be a wake-up call for Pacquiao, in case he does not decide to hang up his gloves. For the kind of money he is making, it is only fair that he gives his fans a fight worth their money, instead of just walking off with his fat paycheck as his fans’ jaws drop.

Look at Lebron James, the fourth highest-paid athlete with $53 million. There is no game James plays for the Miami Heat that he does not give his all. He sacrifices everything for his game, not only because he loves it, but because he knows it is a job he is paid to excel in.

After the Bradley fight, Pacquiao promised to do better next time. That is unacceptable, unless he only got paid in peanuts. But he was not. Instead, for a guaranteed $26 million, there should have been no excuses, no promises of a next time. It should have been war for every cent.