Mojo Rawley Discloses Shockingly Low Pay Under First WWE Contract

Mojo Rawley was one of the mainstays of WWE television back in NXT and sometimes on the main roster, but he was ultimately released a few years ago. It isn’t known if he will return to WWE ever again, but he has now revealed the low pay he got with his first-ever WWE contract.

On April 15, 2021, several WWE Superstars were released including the likes of Mickie James and Mojo Rawley. Since then, Mojo Rawley has been determined to show fans a different side of himself.

Mojo recently shared insights about his initial WWE contract while chatting with Mandy Rose and Tino Sabatelli on their Power Alphas podcast. He recounted the circumstances that led him to WWE, including a severe football injury that sidelined him for 18 months. Despite considering a career outside of sports, Mojo found himself drawn to WWE after being introduced through connections with the Gronkowski family and Mike Rotunda.

“Coming in was kind of crazy. I had an injury in football with the Cardinals. My calf tore off and rolled up the back of my knee, it was four in a half inches. You could put your fist into the spot where my calf used to be, it was horrific. I was out for 18 months. I thought I was done. I had moved on in my mind,” said Mojo. “I signed a contract to work at Meril Lynch. I was fortunate enough to walk again, let alone return to the field of play. Rehab, I went to the Univerity of Maryland to try and come back. I was looking at trying to go back to football, and I knew then, I was talking to the Raiders and Jets, I thought I was getting a shot with one of those two teams. Even if I had, I could have been cut the next week. I was well aware of that.”

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Reflecting on his decision, Mojo revealed that he had opportunities in football, potentially earning him a significantly higher salary than what WWE offered. However, he opted to pursue wrestling, despite the comparatively modest starting salary of $39,000 per year. Mojo recognized the challenge of transitioning from football to wrestling but felt compelled to explore the opportunity, driven by his long-term aspirations and a belief in his potential success in the industry.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I had this opportunity to check out what was going on with WWE because the Gronkowski brothers were some of my best friends and their dad was college roommates with Mike Rotunda,” he continued. “They made a phone call, we talked to Mike, he set up an interview tryout thing. That was it. I got the offer and I left football to come to wrestling. I spent my entire career to make it to football, I got to that level, I would’ve been compensated as such. I would have been making somewhere in the neighborhood of [$400,000 to $500,000] a year with football, if I made the team, which those are big ifs. I had the opportunity to come to WWE, making $39,000 a year, started from scratch in an industry that I had only watched on TV and had done nothing in. Sat down, really evaluated things and long-term aspirations and I was like, ‘I want to do this. I think this is going to be cool and something I can be good at.’”

Following his WWE release, Mojo Rawley kept himself busy with a plethora of ventures and acting gigs. However, he has more or less stayed far away from the world of professional wrestling. Even then, he has a wrestling gig during WrestleMania 40 weekend, so fans can look forward to it.

Are you surprised by the low pay Mojo Rawley used to get? Sound off in the comments section below!