Vince McMahon And Oliver Luck Reach Settlement In Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

June 20, 2022

While WWE is facing multiple investigations, Vince McMahon has settled the $24 million wrongful termination lawsuit Oliver Luck filed against him.

Initially, it seemed like the two sides would have to advance to court after they reportedly failed to reach a settlement during a meeting on June 15. But the Sports Business Journal has reported that McMahon and Luck have settled the suit, so they won’t be heading to court after all.

“The parties reached an agreement to resolve this case on June 16, 2022,” Paul Dobrowski, Luck’s lawyer, wrote in a court filing.

The lawsuit stems from the 2020 relaunch of the XFL, which was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. McMahon subsequently suspended XFL operations and laid off all employees. Luck, who had been hired as the commissioner for at least $20 million per year on a multi-year agreement, was fired on April 9, 2020, a few days before the league filed for bankruptcy on April 13. At the time, McMahon cited other reasons for Luck’s termination; for example, he accused Luck of “gross neglect of his job” during the pandemic. In January 2021, McMahon filed a countersuit against Luck.

Last Wednesday, there was a "9 minute" settlement conference. The duration led us all to believe it was unproductive. Maybe it was. But regardless, the case was settled the very next day — one day before McMahon stepped down as CEO of WWE pending a misconduct investigation.

— Ben Fischer (@BenFischerSBJ) June 20, 2022

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson headed a group that bought the XFL in August 2020, and the league has been undergoing extensive changes ahead of its relaunch in February 2023.