Jake Paul gloatingly compares NBA viewership to his PPV illegal streams after securing $40 million payout
Primetime boxing continues to grow in popularity and Jake Paul's highly touted fight with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson shows that there is a massive market for the sport. Paul worked hard to promote the fight over the last few weeks and on Sunday, he reminded fans just how big his viewership figures could be.
Antonio Brown is a name more associated with the NFL than boxing, but the former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver's livestream of the fight from inside the stadium allowed fans to tune in when Netflix faced technical issues during the fight.
In a post on his X account on Sunday, Paul boasted that an illegal stream of his fight topped the average viewership numbers for the 2024 NBA playoffs.
"More people watched an illegal stream of my fight with Mike Tyson then what the NBA playoffs averaged in 2024," stated Paul.
While Paul circled the 6.6 million number on his post, Brown's livestream reportedly reached as high as 7.6 million at one point. Paul's tweet is the latest of a string of posts over the last few days where he has taken aim at some big names, including Artur Beterbiev. "The Problem Child" has also hit out at Dana White personally and the UFC in different posts.
The NBA has definitely seen a decline in ratings recently. According to Sports Media Watch, the 2024 NBA playoffs averaged 4.53 million viewers, which is a 12.0% drop from the 2023 numbers.
The championship series between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, two of the nation's biggest markets, averaged 11.3 million viewers and topped out at 13.28 million viewers for the final game of the series. Those ratings were the lowest for an NBA Finals since 2021.
Jake Paul added a follow-up post on his X account which confirmed that Friday's fight was the ninth-highest gate value for any boxing or MMA fight.
Most Valuable Promotions, the company which Paul co-founded, was behind the highly publicized event and Paul himself reportedly earned $40 million for the fight. The demand for blockbuster fights continues to grow, and after the extraordinary turn out for Friday's fight, Paul and his team will likely look to venture out and set up more events in the coming years.
Jake Paul parties with NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal after victory over Mike Tyson
Jake Paul is known for his exciting lifestyle and after emerging victories from his battle with Mike Tyson, the 27-year-old went out to celebrate.
Following Friday's fight, Paul shared a clip on his Instagram story of him partying at the afterparty with Shaquille O'Neal, also known as DJ Diesel. O'Neal can be seen behind the DJ booth bobbing his head to the music when Paul jumps into the video.
Paul gave a shout-out to the former Los Angeles Lakers star on social media with a brief two-word comment:
"We outside"
In one of the most hyped fights in years, Paul went the full eight rounds against Tyson and was eventually crowned the winner by unanimous decision.