Report: Update On Vince McMahon's Unreported Payments

Within an 8K report, WWE revealed they had discovered payments totalling $14.6 million made by Vince McMahon between 2006 and 2022, with the payments being noted as unrecorded expenses. As a result, WWE will revise their financial statements for 2019, 2020, 2021, and Q1 2022. 

The discovery comes amidst a WWE Board investigation into hush payments made by Vince McMahon to "suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity." It has been reported that McMahon has paid over $12 million to women since 2006. 

There was some confusion over if McMahon used his personal funds or company money to make the unrecorded expenses payments but Tony Maglio of IndieWire has clarified that McMahon paid the money with wire transfers from his own funds. The expenses will be recorded in a similar manner to a severance payment. 

The payments did potentially provide a "qualitative benefit" to WWE, though, as paying the women to suppress information would have prevented them from revealing something that could have negatively affected WWE. 

Maglio gave the following example: "Let's say WWE was negotiating TV rights or sponsorship and the news came out. It could potentially hurt WWE. So by Vince paying the women off - even from personal funds - and having them sign an NDA, he's benefitting the company."

Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE on Friday, July 22, and another Wall Street Journal report noted his departure was hastened by investigations from federal prosecutors and the SEC into the hush payments.