Sportscasters and announcers are probably some of the misunterstood and taken for granted jobs within the athletic industry as a whole. It seems like their jobs are extremely easy as they seemingly just talk about the game. However there’s obviously a lot more to the job than just that. So how does anyone get into working this job and how much can you make? As it turns out, there’s a chance you can make it big. Out of all the announcers around, Michael Buffer is probably among one of the most famous announcers and he has made quite the fortune for himself.
If you’ve watched any boxing, wresting, some UFC, and other major sporting events within the last thirty years or so, there’s a good chance you’ve heard Michael Buffer serve as the announcer. He is known for his booming voice and his iconic catchphrase “Let’s get ready to rumble” which has now become almost immortalized. He is arguably the most famous ring announcer of all time that has influenced many individuals, but he never set out to do this actually.
Michael Buffer was born in Philadelphia in 1944. His father was serving in the Navy at the time and his parents would eventually get divorced before Buffer turned one. He was then turned over to a foster family where he was raised in Roslyn, Pennsylvania. He grew up living a fairly normal life, and then when he turned 20 he decided to enlist with the United States Army to fight in the Vietnam War. After spending three long years within the service, Buffer would then take his leave to return to civilian life. Like many returning vets at the time, he had some initial difficulties finding a job. For a brief period he worked a few odd jobs before eventually becoming a car salesman. Then when he was 32, he was scouted by a talent agent and began working as a male model. Still none of these professions were even remotely related to his future career. Since Buffer always had an interest in boxing, when he was 38 he then looked to enter the industry in some shape or form. Eventually he became a ring announcer and his life would forever be changed.
Buffer started announcing matches in 1982 and quickly rose to fame. In 1983 he was the sole boxing announcer for all matches that were promoted by Bob Arum’s “Top Rank” which was broadcasted on ESPN. His voice was unmistakable and unique, and the spotlight with ESPN granted him national fame. Eventually sometime in 1984 Michael developed a catchphrase for himself: “Let’s get ready to rumble”. He would use the phrase right at the end of his introductions for the fight, and the fans loved it. Soon people all over the country were using the phrase, and Buffer realized that he had a massive thing on his hands. During the end of the 1980’s, Buffer filed for a federal trademark for his iconic phrase. The trademark would eventually be granted to him in 1992 and this would become the move that defined his career.
Sometime during the early 1990’s, Buffer would reconnect with his biological father and his half-brother, Bruce. Michael and Bruce then began working together to spread Michael’s brand and his trademark. Buffer would soon find himself as the most popular ring announcer around. He would go on to serve as the chief and sole announcer for the WCW wrestling organization in addition to announcing other fighting matches. He soon realized that trademarking his iconic phrase paid off, as he was earning a large some of money from licensing it. Buffer would continue announcing things and made many “guest appearances” as an announcer on American Idol, Deal or No Deal, Saturday Night Live, Mad TV, the World Series, the NBA finals, various NFL playoff games, the Indy 500, and a variety of other events. Now he announces every boxing fight for HBO. It is now estimated that Michael earns around $5 million dollar per event for his services which is totally amazing, however that doesn’t come close to what he made from his trademarked and iconic phrase.
“Let’s get ready to rumble” has been licensed for a variety of different purposes over the years. It’s been used in a few video games and has been used in some commercials. It is now known that his catchphrase has generated some $400 million dollars in revenue from licensing deals, making it one of the most profitable catchphrases ever. The interesting thing about all of this is that Michael Buffer isn’t a massive company or a product, he’s just one man. A man with a unique and iconic voice that came up with a popular catchphrase. You wouldn’t expect a ring announcer to be a multimillionaire, but Michael Buffer proved that all you need is a good voice, an iconic catchphrase, and a trademark and you can elevate yourself to the stars.
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