Aug 23, 2023 · 1h 13m · my-first-million
Meet The Man Behind Conor McGregor’s +$650M Empire (#487)
Audie Attar · 42m spoken Shaan Puri · 13m spoken Sam Parr · 10m spoken Commercial Voiceover (HubSpot) · 5s spoken
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Paradigm Sports founder Audie Attar joins Sam Parr and Shaan Puri to break down the business strategies, high-stakes negotiations, and equity ventures behind Conor McGregor’s $650M empire, including the Mayweather mega-fight and the blockbuster exit of Proper No. Twelve.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. The hosts hold 36.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
The hosts as informed peer 3.4 Guest teaching 3.4 Guest disagreement 1.5 The hosts pushing back 1.6
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 27:25 Audie defends fighter pay numbers against host skepticism
Audie rejects Sam's claim that reported mega-fight pay-per-view payouts are mostly fabrications, clarifying how undisclosed back-end agreements actually result in higher earnings.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 26:25 Sam calls headline pay-per-view payout figures bullshitSam refuses the common public narrative of nine-figure boxing paydays, directly challenging Audie by comparing fighter earnings claims to rappers exaggerating wealth.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:05 Audie explains early UFC broadcast economicsAudie educates the hosts on the fact that the UFC initially had to pay Spike TV for its airtime before landing its breakthrough paid media rights contract with Fox.
The host holds their own ▶ 53:00 Sam analyzes Penn Entertainment's divestiture of BarstoolSam demonstrates strong domain expertise by articulating the regulatory and ESPN-deal mechanics that drove Penn to sell Barstool Sports back to Dave Portnoy.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attire and Status: The Suit vs. Athleisure | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Lighthearted rapport-building about dress codes in sports management versus Silicon Valley tech culture. The hosts tease Audie about his suits and Stanley mug, while Audie plays along agreeably. | |
| Building Paradigm: Shifting from Management to Equity | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | Audie details Paradigm's transition from traditional agency representation to equity and IP building. Shaan and Sam connect this to creator brands like MrBeast, while Audie schools them on UFC broadcast history and economic evolution. | |
| Discovering and Signing Conor McGregor | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Audie recounts how he connected with Conor McGregor on Facebook through Coach John Kavanagh around the Marcus Brimage fight. The hosts ask informed fan questions about Conor's early star power. | |
| A Vision for Athlete Equity and IP Creation | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | Audie explains how he distinguished himself from other agents by pitching long-term IP and equity ventures rather than short-term transactional sponsorships. Shaan compares finding Conor to being an early angel investor in Uber. | |
| Building Proper No. Twelve vs. Chasing Endorsements | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Audie breaks down the decision to pass on immediate six-figure liquor endorsements in favor of putting up seed capital with Ken Austin for Proper No. Twelve. Sam presses on cap tables and startup figures, which Audie navigates under confidentiality. | |
| The Reality of the Mayweather-McGregor Mega-Fight | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | Sam challenges the reported PPV numbers and fighter payouts, calling headline figures complete bullshit. Audie pushes back constructively, explaining back-end agreements and clarifying that Conor's share was near nine figures. | |
| Promoter Models and Fighter Revenue Splits | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | Shaan asks if MMA fighters will ever replicate Mayweather's self-promoter model. Audie breaks down the structural differences between fragmented boxing ecosystems and the UFC's unified league structure. | |
| Sponsor Break: HubSpot CRM Platform | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sponsor break and transitional banter regarding influencer boxing. | |
| The Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg Super-Fight Buzz | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | A speculative discussion on the rumored Musk vs. Zuckerberg fight. Audie shares his insider perception that Zuckerberg was genuinely serious while Musk was posturing. | |
| Negotiating with Lorenzo Fertitta and the UFC | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Audie shares the experience of negotiating directly against Lorenzo Fertitta and the UFC brass, detailing the adversarial yet professional dynamic and celebrating in private afterwards. | |
| The $600M Proper Twelve Exit and Life-Changing Wealth | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Audie reflects on the emotional and psychological reality of the reported $600M Proper Twelve exit during COVID, including buying his mother a home and managing the sudden shift in social dynamics. | |
| Managing Platform Risk and the Barstool Comparison | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Sam raises platform risk, asking if Conor's legal controversies create severe agency vulnerability, drawing a comparison to Barstool Sports and Penn Entertainment. Audie defends Conor's record and emphasizes portfolio diversification. | |
| Expanding Conor's Brand Portfolio and Authentic Ventures | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Audie lists the broader portfolio around Conor, including TIDL recovery spray, Fast fitness app, August McGregor, and Road House, emphasizing organic product alignment over cash-grab licensing. | |
| Conor's Star Power, Improvised Charisma, and Public Scrutiny | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | Shaan asks directly about Conor's perceived public 'heel turn' and fan fatigue. Audie gives an extensive defense, pointing out the intense public scrutiny and unproven accusations faced by mega-celebrities. | |
| The Live UFC Experience and Dillon Danis vs. Logan Paul | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | The hosts discuss viewing UFC live versus on TV, then ask about client Dillon Danis's upcoming boxing match with Logan Paul. Audie defends Danis's preparation and promotional value. | |
| Wrapping Up and Where to Follow Audie Attar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Standard wrap-up and social media plugs. Friendly outro with no pushback or schooling. |
Statements from this episode (16)
Attar: UFC paid Spike TV for airtime before securing Fox rights deal
“That's a, that's publicly known. They were actually, you know, paying for that airtime. So the original Ultimate Fighter and then all, all that was broadcast on Spike back in the day. Yeah, they were not only funding their own production, but they were paying …”
Attar: Most people who know Conor McGregor have never seen him fight
“Majority of people in the world
know who Conor McGregor is. And I would argue that most of them have never seen him fight. They've actually seen more of his interviews and him talking because, you know, when he talks, you can't take your eyes off of it.”
Attar's agency model focused on athlete media and equity ventures in 2009
“When I first launched Paradigm in 2009, my business plan Was not only to be the best in class from a management perspective, but build clients, media, and IP, where, whereby building more brand equities for them, and that will yield not only more answer their …”
Attar: Proper No. Twelve Development Began in 2014 Before Mayweather Fight Announcement
“We announced our entry into the whiskey market in our post-fight press conference. We started, though, the process in 2014, and we were doing a lot of research and development and pivoting from different groups, and ultimately, we found the right formula, if y…”
McGregor and Attar invested just hundreds of thousands to launch Proper 12
“I can tell you that we put up probably a few 100,000 of our own capital initially.”
Attar: McGregor's Annual Sponsorship Value Grew From $250K to Seven Figures
“Back at that time, you know, when we first started the process, it would have been like two, 250,000, something like that. By the time we launched, he probably was in the seven figure range. In terms of sponsors, sponsorship annually, right?”
Attar: Mayweather vs. McGregor did 4.3 to 4.4 million PPV buys
“Maymac in particular, there was, you know, I think there was rumors that were starting to trickle in that it did over six million buys or something to that extent. You know what I mean? But it landed in like the four, three, four, four range. And that's, no, t…”
Conor McGregor earned nearly $100 million from the Floyd Mayweather boxing match
“Con Connor was, you know, I'd say Just under a hundred, right? When it's all said and done.”
Attar: Boxing is declining due to organizational fragmentation
“From a boxing perspective, I think that's why boxing has been on the decline. It's so fragmented, right? And there's, at the end of the day, there's not a true promotion that's stood the test of time.”
Attar: MMA fighters should get a larger share of promotional revenues
“I think that fighters definitely should have a bigger piece of the revenues as this thing continues to grow, which I think they've come a long way, but they still have a long way to go.”
Mark Zuckerberg is genuinely willing to fight Elon Musk at any weight
“I believe Zuck would be down. Catch weight, whatever. It doesn't matter. Like, I think Zuck is down. Zuck is a, is, is, is truly, you know, training, and regardless of this fight or not, he's in there.”
Dana White owned just 4% to 6% of UFC at its sale
“I think Dana only owned, like, four or six percent of it when it sold, but the Fertitta brothers owned most all of it besides some outside, outside money”
Attar: Proper No. Twelve Sale Retained Long-Term Equity for McGregor Team
“Now we still have, we're still part of the business. So we can still, Keep making a lot of money in, in, in, into the next decade or, and longer, you know, at the end of the day.”
Facebook algorithm change crashed a website's sale from $200M to $30M
“He was about to get a two hundred million dollar check for the sale. And it was a, like a, one of those like click baby websites on Facebook that showed like top 10 lists. And then Facebook changed the algorithm and the sale, sale dropped from two hundred mill…”