WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross discussed various topics on his podcast, “Grilling JR,” including whether Vince McMahon had a specific pay model for champions.
Ross said, “Yeah, kinda. I think — you know, for example, Austin made 5% of the net gross. So that’s the net after taxes. So if that number was a $100,000 gate, that makes five grand. That’s pretty easy math. Some guys are happy with that, and some guys weren’t. But it’s a matter of — quite frankly it’s like I said many times, it’s just a matter of communicating in a fair and upfront manner to resolve the issue if there is one. But nowadays, it seems like talents are more used to this discretionary money. They understand somewhat the formula that’s utilized. You gotta have some sort of formula. And like I said, Austin made 5% of the net gross as a rule, sometimes more. So it worked out pretty — it has in my experience, which I haven’t done that job in a long time, it has worked out pretty well.”
On if he remembers Steve Austin’s best financial year in WWE:
“Not really. ’99 would be a good educated guess, there’s no doubt about that. But I I don’t know verbatim where all that stood. He made so much money, and the money he made from live events certainly were matched, at least matched if not more, by the merchandise that he was earning. But ’99 is a good place to start.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
