Alex Honnold, a renowned rock climber, recently appeared in Skyscraper Live, a Netflix special, where he climbed one of the tallest buildings in the world: Taipei 101.
However, in an interview with The New York Times, he likens the amount he received for starring in a show to an “embarrassingly small” sum.
Though he did not reveal the exact amount.
However, Honnold says that, when he compares the pay cheque with common payments in mainstream sports, it is meagre.
“Actually, if you put it in the context of mainstream sports, it’s an embarrassingly small amount,” he tells the newspaper. “You know, Major League Baseball players get like $170 million contracts. Like, someone you haven’t even heard of and that nobody cares about.”
According to the NYT, the figure the rock climber is paid is in the mid-six figures, which he says is “maybe the most he’s been paid for a climb.” However, his agent “aspired to” more.
However, Honnold clarifies that his main motivation was not money when he made the climb; it was the thrill of reaching the top, which he says is his primary reward.
“I mean, I would do it for free. If there was no TV program and the building gave me permission to go do the thing, I would do the thing because I know I can, and it’d be amazing,” he notes.
“I mean, just sitting by yourself on the very top of the spire is insane. And so, you know, if there wasn’t the whole spectacle around it.”
“And I just had the opportunity to go do it by myself, I’d be fine with that. I would do that, but in this case, there is a spectacle. I’m not getting paid to climb the building. I’m getting paid for the spectacle. I’m climbing the building for free,” Honnold concludes.
