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MrBeast slams Netflix over Alex Honnold’s payday for viral Taipei 101 climb originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Alex Honnold’s death-defying free solo climb of Taipei 101 captivated a global audience and became one of Netflix’s most talked about live sports spectacles to date. The famed climber scaled the 1,667-foot skyscraper without ropes or a harness during the streaming platform’s Skyscraper Live special. It added to his reputation as one of the most daring athletes of his generation.
But the conversation shifted quickly after Honnold revealed how much he was paid.
According to The New York Times ahead of the event, Honnold said the payday, while possibly the largest of his career, fell short of expectations. He described the compensation as “an embarrassing amount” when viewed alongside salaries in mainstream professional sports.
“If you put it in the context of mainstream sports, it’s an embarrassingly small amount,” Honnold said, referencing nine-figure contracts routinely handed out in Major League Baseball and the NFL.
Honnold did not disclose a precise figure, only saying it was less than $10 million. The Times later reported his payout landed in the mid-six figures, roughly $500,000, citing two people with direct knowledge of the deal.
That figure prompted a reaction from YouTube megastar MrBeast, who criticized Netflix for undervaluing the risk involved. In a response on X, MrBeast wrote that he would have paid Honnold more to perform the feat on his own channel.
MrBeast productions routinely involve multi-million-dollar challenges, but he did not specify a number. Still, his comment sparked debate about how extreme-sport athletes are compensated compared with traditional professional athletes. This could lead to a future collaboration that could shift that balance.
More Alex Honnold news:
- Everything you need to know about Netflix's delayed broadcast
- Alex Honnold hometown and more to know about where climbing legend lives
- Alex Honnold will earn 'an embarrassing amount' for conquering Taipei 101
- How Alex Honnold's Taipei 101 climb compares to El Capitan
- How many people have free soloed El Capitan?
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