JBL believes WWE talent should recognize how far wrestler compensation has progressed and says anyone who wants a larger contract has a straightforward way to increase their value: draw more business.
TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro told the Goldman Sachs conference this week that the company had “resized” fighter and WWE Superstar pay following major media rights agreements with ESPN, Paramount, Netflix and others. Shapiro said those changes are already reflected in TKO’s financial numbers and that the company expects its margins to continue expanding.
Conrad Thompson raised Shapiro’s comments with JBL on Something to Wrestle With, prompting the WWE Hall of Famer to explain why he considers the approach a basic consequence of operating with a defined amount of revenue.
“Now you’re dealing with a finite number, and that number is not going to change. That number was changing before,” he said. “If you have a finite amount, and that amount changes as far as what your income is, you got to do something on the other side of the ledger, and that’s lower cost. That’s just business.”
JBL also rejected the idea that wrestlers should expect a company to prioritize their individual financial interests ahead of its own business considerations.
“I understand people out there think that you should be adopted by WWE, and I think people have felt that forever. Or by WCW when it was around, or any other company,” JBL said. “Sorry, it’s a business. You’re not moving in with somebody into their house. You’re not being adopted.”
For wrestlers who believe they deserve more money, JBL argued that the solution is to create enough interest that their market value increases.
“If your contract’s out there, these guys are making really good money. You can’t do that probably anywhere else. But if you want to make more money, draw it. Simple,” he said. “Draw ratings. Do something like Danhausen has done. Do something Roman Reigns has done, like CM Punk has done, like Cody Rhodes has done. Figure out a way to create interest.”
JBL noted that increasing one performer’s compensation ultimately affects how much money remains available elsewhere on the roster.
“You have a finite amount of money. Now it’s coming out of some other superstar’s pocket. That’s the way it’s always been,” JBL said. “It’s that way in football. It’s that way in basketball. If he’s worth it, he’s gonna make more. And if you’re worth it, you’re going to make more. All you gotta do is negotiate.”
Asked how the number of wrestlers earning seven-figure salaries today compares with his own era, JBL said there is no comparison.
“Are you kidding me? Of course it’s a multiple. It has to be a multiple, and a high multiple. It’s not even close,” JBL said. “We never knew what anybody else made. Guys didn’t talk about salaries. We had a few guys making really good money. Most of the guys were getting by.”
JBL then revealed that he earned approximately $76,000 during his first year with WWE in 1996 despite working a demanding schedule. However, he stressed that he doesn’t believe the tougher conditions of his generation should be used to argue that today’s wrestlers deserve less.
“My first year, I think it was $76,000 I made in 96. I was on, I believe, every pay-per-view and every house show. So whatever we worked, 250 nights,” JBL said. “I had to pay for my own car. I had to pay for a hotel. We’re staying four people to a room. I’m not comparing that to today. It’s not fair. It’s not fair to do that to the guys today and say, here’s what we did in our day. We paid our dues. We did, but so what? They don’t have to. That’s good for them.”
He also recalled WWE taking care of him financially and medically during periods when he was injured.
“Vince took incredibly good care of us. There were times when I was hurt and I’d already reached my downside guarantee. He paid me throughout the year. He didn’t have to do that. He took care of every one of my surgeries, every one of the rehabs,” he said.
JBL believes the conditions available to today’s WWE roster demonstrate how much the industry has evolved from the environment in which he began his career.
“Their health care is phenomenal. They take care of these guys,” he said. “It’s terrific to see how far the business has come out of the old bingo halls and VFWs and all the stuff we used to wrestle, no health care, no nothing. Now that being said, you shouldn’t be taken advantage of, but they’re not being taken advantage of.”
His comments come amid scrutiny of TKO’s approach to wrestler compensation. Several performers have departed rather than accept restructured agreements, with Kofi Kingston recently claiming that he and Austin Creed were offered reductions of more than 50 percent. The pair instead requested their WWE releases and later debuted in AEW as New Level at All In: London.
Shapiro has repeatedly characterized TKO’s approach as maintaining a lean cost structure while paying premium money to its top performers. JBL’s position broadly supports that philosophy from a wrestler’s perspective: performers should protect their interests and negotiate, but ultimately increase their leverage by demonstrating their ability to generate business.
