ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reported boxer FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR. "will earn a guaranteed purse" of $41.5M for his fight on Sept. 14 against CANELO ALVAREZ at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Golden Boy Promotions CEO RICHARD SCHAEFER and Mayweather Promotions CEO LEONARD ELLERBE made the announcement yesterday. The purse "shatters the previous record" of $32M, which Mayweather set for his May '12 fight with MIGUEL COTTO and then tied for a May '13 fight against ROBERT GUERRERO. Mayweather's take for the Alvarez fight "could wind up even greater" than $41.5M. This can happen "if the pay-per-view, which some believe can challenge the all-time buy record of 2.44 million and revenue record of more than $130 million that Mayweather and OSCAR DE LA HOYA set for their 2007 showdown, goes through the roof and there is still profit after Showtime/CBS makes it into the black" (ESPN.com, 9/4).
PAY CHECK: USA TODAY's Steve Berkowitz cites tax records as showing that Northwestern football coach PAT FITZGERALD was "credited with more than" $2.2M in compensation during the '11 calendar year. That figure is nearly $1M more than he was reported as making in '10, and the "differential is almost entirely in base pay." This is the "first time since 2005 that Northwestern's tax return has shown a coach to be the highest-paid employee of the university and its related organizations." Fitzgerald's pay includes $1,972,041 in base pay and $82,500 in bonus and incentive compensation (USA TODAY, 9/5).
COURT REPORT: Lawyers for Canucks co-Owner & Chair FRANCESCO AQUILINI in his divorce case said that they have "applied to court for orders protecting the confidentiality of his family and commercial interests." Aquilini also owns Rogers Arena. The trial is scheduled to start on Monday in B.C. Supreme Court (VANCOUVER SUN, 9/5). Aquilini's case is "expected to draw much public attention." Aquilini wrote on his Twitter account, "I am requesting this order to protect my children. During this trial, protecting my five children will be at the heart of everything I do relating to both custodial and financial matters" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 9/5).
CHARITY STRIPE: Community service and education project Service Learning Adventures in North Texas (SLANT), which was created in '09 by the Super Bowl XLV host committee "as its signature charitable effort," is "being adopted by the NCAA and local organizers" for the '14 Final Four, which also will be played at AT&T Stadium. Students as part of the project "will help turn unused temporary buildings into a community center" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/5).
NAMES: Canada Prime Minister STEPHEN HARPER's book "A GREAT GAME: THE FORGOTTEN LEAFS AND THE RISE OF PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY," will be released on Nov. 5 in Canada and the U.S. by Simon & Schuster (REUTERS, 9/4)....Wizards G JOHN WALL "closed two weeks ago" for $4.9M on an "eight bedroom, 12 bath, 17,350 sq. ft. mansion just outside the Beltway" in Potomac, Md. (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/4)....Georgia Tech AD MIKE BOBINSKI threw out the first pitch of yesterday's Mets-Braves game at Turner Field (THE DAILY).
