Could WWE Be Sold, How Are WWE Superstars Paid

Could WWE be sold? According to a rumor out there, it’s possible and could happen soon. Also, in the corona craziness, how are WWE Superstars paid?

Could WWE Be Sold?

Here’s a crazy thought. Could WWE be sold?

According to what can only be termed a wild rumor (for now), that is on the table.

Dutch Mantel posted this tidbit to Twitter:

It’s worth saying the obvious: this is a rumor, reported as such. It’s second or third hand information at this point.

Something else to keep in mind is that, in this volatile economic time, companies like FOX and ESPN may not be overly eager to make a big purchase.

More to the point, any such investment will likely be more scrutinized than just a few months earlier.

Does this make sense?

Now, there is some logic to this thought process too. Not that long ago, WWE was reportedly deep in talks with at least ESPN.

Now, those discussions were said to specifically involve WWE PPVs airing on the ESPN streaming service. No concrete reports had emerged about anything else being discussed.

With that in mind, it is entirely possible that those talks morphed into a much bigger deal. It’s also possible that this is just a wild rumor and there’s nothing to it.

The connection to FOX is clear already. The network spent a good bit of capital to bring SmackDown to FOX last year, and they also air WWE Backstage on their FS1 cable network.

Should WWE and the WWE Network be up for sale, or should a deal be there to be made, you’d have to think other networks would be interested as well. Specifically, Comcast NBCUniversal would be another logical option.

WWE has a very lengthy relationship with that network already. Monday Night RAW has aired on USA for a long time, and NBC executives have been involved in such events as WrestleMania and Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Considering that Vince McMahon just lost a lot on the XFL (again), having multiple interested parties bidding on his family’s company would likely be a best-case scenario.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if WWE had new corporate ownership, for sure.

How Are WWE Superstars Paid?

With business slowing down, some WWE Superstars have voiced displeasure about workload. Other Superstars have been cut loose, in what appeared to be a cost cutting move.

So, for those still around, how are they being paid?

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, Superstars do have a couple options.

In normal times, Superstars may have a downside guarantee. Their pay takes into account appearances on live shows (in addition to weekly TV), along with merchandise sales and the like.

Before the pandemic, that pay happened based on a quarterly number.

Talent have had the choice to either be paid biweekly based on that downside guarantee, or based off of an expected income from live events and royalties from merchandise and such.

If the second option does not reach their downside guarantee, the company would pay them the difference.

It’s an interesting pay structure, for sure. For those Superstars not working much now, checks are likely a lot smaller than they are used to.