AEW Pays Significant Share of Revenue in Salaries to Wrestlers

AEW has been part of the world of professional wrestling for well over five years now and with its increased roster, comes an increase in salaries for their talent. In fact, AEW pays a significant share of their revenue in salaries to their wrestlers.

As previously reported, AEW talent are paid according to annual contracts, with the total payroll for all talent being approximately $104 million per year. The actual figure is estimated to be just under $104 million, but only slightly.

To cover their costs, they likely need at least $125 million annually from Warner Bros. Discovery. However, nothing is finalized until the deal is officially signed, though that will likely happen soon enough.

According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW currently allocates just over 55% of its revenue to talent salaries. This distribution is partly based on the anticipation of a significant increase in revenue from TV rights deals expected in 2025.

Tony Khan continues to pour money into AEW but isn’t really making an overall profit. Regardless, we will have to wait and see whether AEW’s new deal with Warner Bros Discovery will end up helping the company in the long run, as AEW definitely needs a major deal.

What do you think of this story concerning AEW paying such a significant percentage of their shares for talent salaries? Sound off in the comments section below!