WWE reportedly spent 15% of its revenue on main roster talent in 2022.
According to POST Wrestling, citing a court filing, the company spent an implied average of about $1.5 million per main roster talent that year, though the figure may be skewed by top-tier stars.
Overall, WWE spent $195 million on talent, including developmental performers, which accounted for roughly 15% of the company’s total revenue of $1.29 billion.
The report also noted that WWE’s average pay for main roster talent nearly doubled between 2020 and 2022, rising from about $890,000 to approximately $1.5 million.
The documents, filed publicly this week as part of an ongoing merger-related shareholder lawsuit, were prepared for a WWE Board meeting in early 2023.
The presentation slides, though a few years old, offer rare insight into how WWE compensates its performers. They also include forward-looking projections indicating that talent pay would remain around 15% of overall company revenue.
WWE projects talent compensation to remain at 15% through 2028
Another slide specifically projected that talent compensation would remain at around 15% of the company’s total revenue through 2028.
The filings did not disclose the exact compensation of individual wrestlers, but they did reference raises for certain top talents.
Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Logan Paul, Cody Rhodes, and Braun Strowman were among the key names who received contract renewals totaling $15 million. Brock Lesnar’s contract renewal was listed at $4 million.
Meanwhile, Bianca Belair, The Street Profits, Gable Steveson, Rhea Ripley, Asuka, and Baron Corbin were among the talent who received annual contract step-ups totaling $2 million.
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