Kurt Angle Reveals He Earned Over $1 Million In His First Year With WWE
"I got paid to wrestle and I got paid very well to do it."
Mar 22, 2021
Kurt Angle has revealed his first contract with WWE guaranteed him $75,000 a year, but the Olympic Gold Medallist made over $1 million in his first 12 months with the company.
Angle is widely believed to have enjoyed one of the best debut years in WWE history, winning the European and Intercontinental Championship, the King Of The Ring and eventually the then-WWF Championship.
The 52-year-old has spoken about his rookie year with the promotion and how he was tied to a five-year deal that guaranteed him $75k per year, but Angle would tell Jim Ross he would earn a seven-figure salary, something the WWE Hall of Famer would achieve.
Speaking on the Kurt Angle Show, he said: "You know what, my guarantee was $75,000, so I made well over that. What I was surprised about, and I promised J.R [Jim Ross] this when I accepted that contract. he said: ‘you’re going to get $75,000 a year for five years.’ I signed the contract, I said: ‘don’t worry about it because I’m going to make a million in my first year.’ He’s like, ‘whatever you say.’ So I did, I did make a million, which I’m really proud of.
“I wasn’t expecting to make a million dollars my first year in the business, especially not having any kind of merchandise. I wasn’t selling merchandise. They weren’t hopping off the shelves and people weren’t buying Kurt Angle stuff because I was a heel. So I didn’t make a lot on that. I got paid to wrestle and I got paid very well to do it.
"So making a million dollars a year without any kind of merchandise, I made maybe 30 or 40 grand with merchandise, that was about it. I made a lot of money wrestling and I did exceed the goal that I told JR I would do.”
H/T Fightful
