Famed boxer Mike Tyson reportedly paid a measly $75 to have his name and likeness used in the Nintendo Entertainment Classic Mike Tyson’s PunchOut!!
A new tell all book by a long time Nintendo employee has revealed the startling dollar amounts that Nintendo has paid popular athletes to appear in several of their games. Most notably boxing legend Mike Tyson, and baseball great Ken Griffey Jr.
Leaked copies of an incomplete manuscript details the 33 year work history of Tonichi Kanasagnaki; a self described “good soldier” of Nintendo of Japan. Kanasagnaki-san alleges that he was responsible for working with American sports and entertainment agents to obtain licensing deals with various celebrities to use their names and likeness in a variety of Nintendo products.
“Mike Tyson was easy,” explains a chapter in Kanasagnaki-san’s manuscript, “he was easy because we knew he needed the money, and in those days he didn’t have much exposure to advertising products, and at the advice of his agent, accepted $75 in exchange for Nintendo to plaster his face in the legendary boxing game, and on the box and promotional materials.” The chapter goes on to explain Tyson’s agent at the time received a check for $54,925 for the deal.
According to the manuscript Ken Griffey Jr. accepted $7500 as part of his licensing package, and a variety of other celebrities were offered deals of various amounts. Many declined, and some accepted, only to allegedly never get paid, and to never appear in any games. Celebrities on Nintendo’s ‘B’ list included Whitney Houston, Michael Jordan, and Bruce Willis, who never signed a licensing deal with Nintendo but whose likeness did appear in two licensed Nintendo Games: Die Hard, and Hudson Hawk.
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