Alex Honnold talks ’embarrassingly small’ compensation from Netflix for Taipei 101 climb

It’s not quite live sports, but Netflix’s broadcast of free solo climber Alex Honnold’s scaling Taipei 101, one of the world’s tallest buildings, officially fell under the Netflix Sports banner when the streamer aired the event on Saturday.

Netflix, as has been well-documented at this point, has begun to dabble in live sporting events as part of its larger content strategy. The streamer airs a pair of NFL games on Christmas Day, will begin broadcasting MLB’s Opening Night and Home Run Derby this season, will exclusively stream the Women’s World Cup next year, and has promoted countless live boxing events in recent years.

Honnold’s heart-racing endeavor was a first-of-its-kind thrill event for Netflix that garnered significant attention on social media. So far, we don’t have viewership data for the event (and it’s unclear if Netflix will release such figures). But it’s safe to say Honnold’s feat broke through, at least on some level.

The entire spectacle begged the question: What’s the going rate for someone to risk their life climbing one of the world’s tallest buildings, without ropes or safety equipment, live on Netflix? The streamer pays top dollar for its other live sporting events; a reported $150 million per year for its NFL doubleheader and $50 million for its MLB package.

Now, we know that Alex Honnold isn’t going to put up NFL-type viewership figures. Therefore, he’s not going to earn NFL-type money. But there’s gotta be a premium on risking your life for our entertainment, right?

Well, according to Honnold himself, there isn’t. In an interview with the New York Times prior to his climb, Honnold revealed the compensation he was receiving from Netflix was “embarrassingly small.” But even still, he was happy to do the event because he’d climb Taipei 101 “for free” if he was given the opportunity.

When asked if this was his biggest payday ever, Honnold said, “Maybe. It’s less than my agent aspired to. 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. 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.”

When pressed further about the exact amount, Honnold declined to get into specifics. The Times, however, reported that he’d be earning in the “mid-six figures” for the event.

That seems to be a pretty nominal amount for scaling a 101-story building without rope, especially considering Netflix has a little bit of money to throw around on content. But hey, if Honnold is willing to do it for free, a mid-six figure paycheck isn’t all that bad. And he survived and gets to actually spend it, which is a bonus!