Jon Jones is primed to make $2 million from UFC 197 on 4/23/16. Jones could make over $500,000 in prize and bonus money and $1.5 million as a percentage of Pay Per View buys.
Jones has earned $18.1 million total over the course of his career. His net worth is $8.4 million after taxes and expenses. $3.69 million of his earnings comes from prize money. $8.3 million comes from PPV earnings and another $6.1 million from sponsor dollars.
Jon Jones’ ability to make money was severely hampered by a 2015 felony conviction for a hit and run. Jones missed out on millions and lost a multi-million dollar, six year deal with Reebok that would have paid him about $10 million.
Jon Jones Prize Money and Earnings
Jones has earned $3.69 million in prize money and bonuses since he entered the world of MMA in 2008. He has also made an estimated $8.3 million in PPV money and $6.1 million in endorsement pay. The table below shows the breakdown of Jones’ earnings by fight. The endorsement pay is estimated by year only and has been fit into the table where it’s most convenient.
Date | Fight | Event | Result | Time | Prizes and Bonuses | PPV Money | Endorsement Earnings (Estimated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/3/2015 | Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier | UFC 182 | Win | 5:00 | $550,000 | $1,198,800 | |
| 4/26/2014 | Jon Jones vs Glover Teixeira | UFC 172 | Win | 5:00 | $400,000 | $524,475 | $2,000,000 |
| 9/21/2013 | Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson | UFC 165 | Win | 5:00 | $450,000 | $464,535 | |
| 4/27/2013 | Jon Jones vs Chael Sonnen | UFC 159 | Win | 4:33 | $400,000 | $794,205 | $2,000,000 |
| 9/22/2012 | Jon Jones vs Vitor Belfort | UFC 152 | Win | 0:54 | $465,000 | $674,190 | |
| 4/21/2012 | Jon Jones vs Rashad Evans | UFC 145 | Win | 5:00 | $400,000 | $1,048,950 | $2,000,000 |
| 12/10/2011 | Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida | UFC 140 | Win | 4:26 | $215,000 | $719,280 | |
| 9/24/2011 | Jon Jones vs Quinton Jackson | UFC 135 | Win | 1:14 | $215,000 | $779,220 | |
| 3/19/2011 | Jon Jones vs Maurício Rua | UFC 128 | Win | 2:37 | $140,000 | $734,265 | |
| 2/5/2011 | Jon Jones vs Ryan Bader | UFC 126 | Win | 4:20 | $215,000 | $362,138 | $100,000 |
| 8/1/2010 | Jon Jones vs Vladimir Matyushenko | UFC Live | Win | 1:52 | $46,000 | Not PPV | |
| 3/21/2010 | Jon Jones vs Brandon Vera | UFC Live | Win | 3:19 | $90,000 | Not PPV | |
| 12/5/2009 | Jon Jones vs Matt Hamill | The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale | Loss | 4:14 | $20,000 | Not PPV | |
| 7/11/2009 | Jon Jones vs Jake O'Brien | UFC 100 | Win | 2:43 | $18,000 | $399,600 | |
| 1/31/2009 | Jon Jones vs Stephan Bonnar | UFC 94 | Win | 5:00 | $14,000 | $459,540 | |
| 8/9/2008 | Jon Jones vs André Gusmão | UFC 87 | Win | 5:00 | $12,000 | $156,094 | |
| 7/12/2008 | Jon Jones vs Moyses Gabin | Battle Cage Xtreme 5 | Win | 1:58 | $10,000 | Not PPV | |
| 6/20/2008 | Jon Jones vs Parker Porter | World Championship Fighting 3 | Win | 0:36 | $7,500 | Not PPV | |
| 5/9/2008 | Jon Jones vs Ryan Verrett | USFL: War in the Woods 3 | Win | 0:14 | $7,500 | Not PPV | |
| 4/25/2008 | Jon Jones vs Anthony Pina | Ice Fighter | Win | 1:15 | $5,000 | Not PPV | |
| 4/19/2008 | Jon Jones vs Carlos Eduardo | Battle Cage Xtreme 4 | Win | 0:24 | $5,000 | Not PPV | |
| 4/12/2008 | Jon Jones vs Brad Bernard | FFP: Untamed 20 | Win | 1:32 | $5,000 | Not PPV | |
| Totals | $3,690,000 | $8,315,291 | $6,100,000 |
@jacksonwink_mma best MMA program in the world @alistairovereem @yoelromeromma #IronSharpe… https://t.co/QHd7BI9405 pic.twitter.com/ajD0LDvZKz
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) April 6, 2016
Jones earned from $5,000 to $20,000 each for ten fights in 2008 and 2009. His earnings really boosted when he entered the UFC. His actual prize money didn’t increase much, but UFC fighters get a small cut of each fight’s Pay Per View dollars. The UFC does not officially disclose exactly what this percentage is. However, multiple leaks place the figure at about 3% for headline fighters. Estimating fighters on the Prelim Card get about half a percent gives Jones $156,094 in PPV money for UFC 87. That’s half a percent of the $49.95 cost of all 625,000 PPV buys for that event.
Jones’ earnings shot up again in 2011. Not only did his prize money reach into the hundreds of thousands for each fight, but he made it into the UFC headline spot. That gave him an estimated 3% of the PPV money. By mid 2011 he was making almost a million dollars a fight. For example, when Jones beat Lyoto Machida as the main event of UFC 140, he made $215,000 in prize and bonus money. The event had 480,000 PPV buys at $49.95 each. That’s a total take of $24 million. Jones’ 3% of that is $719,000. That gave Jones a total for that fight of $934,000.
Also see: How Much Money Does Holly Holm Make?
Jon Jones UFC 197 Prize Money
Judging by his earnings trend from his 22 professional MMA fights so far, Jones stands to make $2 million for UFC 197. His prize money and bonuses will likely come to around half a million, with over a million more coming from his Pay Per View percentage. Of course Jones’ pay depends heavily on exactly how many PPV buys UFC 197 gets. Though the number of PPV buys has trended generally upward, individual fight numbers are all over the map. Rousey vs Holm at UFC 193 took 1.1 million buys, and Aldo vs McGregor at UFC 194 took 1.2 million. But UFC 191 and 195 took only 115,000 and 300,000 buys respectively.
Generally speaking, the UFC events with the most at stake get the most buys. Holly Holm and Ronda Rousey are big draws, as are McGregor and Diaz. It seems as if a Jon Jones comeback fight at UFC 197 will once again pull in a lot of viewers. Jones’ highly publicized suspension and 2015 felony conviction will most likely prove once again that no publicity is bad publicity. If UFC 197 pulls over a million viewers, Jones will make around $1.5 million in PPV money alone. With another $500,000 at least in prizes and bonuses, that puts him up around the $2 million mark for total earnings.
Late night work with @JonnyBones. pic.twitter.com/GoP6Hqf0bG
— Brandon Gibson (@SixGunGibson) April 1, 2016
Jon Jones Net Worth
Jon Jones’ net worth is $8.4 million. Jones entered the MMA in 2008 with a fight against Brad Bernard in FFP: Untamed 20. Since that time, he has earned $3.69 million in documented prizes and bonus money from 22 professional MMA fights. Another $8.4 million in estimated PPV earnings and $6.1 million in endorsement pay give the fighter $18 million in total earnings. Taxes and expenses chop out almost $11 million of that, with investments estimated at 6% per year adding back almost a million.
Jones has had some big endorsement deals. He pulled a multi-million dollar deal with Nike back in 2012. He also had a major deal with Reebok in 2014. The six year deal ended with a crash a year later when Jones pleaded guilty to a felony. Before Reebok yanked the agreement, Jones likely earned about $2 million from it.
Jones hasn’t discussed exact figures for his endorsement deals. That said, disclosures from other athletes and industry estimates for sports figures aren’t hard to find. It’s not unusual for a big name star like LeBron James or Peyton Manning to earn anywhere from $10 million to $25 million a year from brand endorsements. MMA fighters don’t have quite as much universal appeal as those stars, but they still make headlines and draw in viewers. Jones’ endorsement pay for 2012, 2013 and 2014 is estimated at $2 million a year. In 2011 he likely made about $100,000 from endorsements. That gives him $6.1 million in total sponsor money.
Adjustments to the Jon Jones net worth number include taxes, expenses and investments. Jones earns over $450,000 a year, which puts him in the highest U.S. tax bracket of 39.6% and the highest New York State bracket of 8.82%. That combined rate has taken away about half of Jon Jones’ earnings since 2011. Expenses include money paid to trainers, agents and staff, as well as cost of living and travel.
Also see: How Much Money Does Canelo Alvarez Make?
Suspension is Jones’ Biggest Money Fail
By far the biggest attack on Jon Jones’ ability to make money came from his felony conviction. The fighter’s criminal record may actually help him in some ways. There’s nothing like an actual felon in the ring to make people buy PPV tickets. But it may have permanently damaged Jones’ ability to land sponsor deals.
Before his conviction, Jones had had a worldwide deal with Nike. He had also inked a six year contract with Reebok. His Nike deal had already ended, but the Reebok deal had five more years to go. While actual figures weren’t released, the deal is estimated at $2 million per year. That sapped $10 million from Jones’ bottom line.
Jones’s suspension is over as of UFC 197. That’s great for him, but Reebok hasn’t come back to the table. Jon Jones was able to land a major deal with fitness supplement distributor GAT Nutrition, but it’s a safe bet the new agreement is nowhere near as lucrative as his Reebok contract was.
Whether Jon Jones will ever get back up to multi million dollar endorsement status is doubtful. There aren’t a lot of mainstream companies that want an ex con as the face of their brand. Still, Jones probably isn’t crying in his protein shake over it. He’s still good for well over a million a fight.
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