Hulk Hogan 1998 WCW Contract

[No1Joker]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/287131780/1998-Hulk-Hogan-contract-with-WCW

I saw this on reddit and wanted to share with you guys. Yes i know he was essentially the biggest figure in WCW and bringing in fans and stuff but still its ridiculous.

Some highlights:

He got a $2,000,000 bonus just for signing the contract, paid to him within 14 days.

He was paid 25% of all ticket revenues for any Nitro or Thunder that he appeared. This amount could never be less than $25,000. (It's worth pointing out that the 25% was of the gross. Not the net, the gross. Which is just crazy. Any Nitro, any Thunder, any house show where Hogan appeared, he got a quarter of the money off the top, before any bills were paid.)

For any PPV that he appeared on, he got 15% of all PPV sales OR $675,000 -- whichever number was higher.

He got 50% royalty from every Hulk Hogan, NWO, Hollywood Hogan merchandise sales.

And ofcourse the infamous: Bollea(Hogan) shall have approval over the outcome of all wrestling matches in which he appears, wrestles and performs, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld.

I wonder how much SCSA or The Rock made in their peak?

EDIT: Does anybody have info on the first contract HH signed at WCW back in 94?

Click to read more...

 

[17futurecap]

They didn't call him Billionaire Ted for nothing.

 

[S A W F T*]

Talk about having a company by the balls.

Anyone know anything crazy about Brock contract?

 

[Paris in Flames]

And now he has none of it.

 

[Never]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/287131780/1998-Hulk-Hogan-contract-with-WCW

I saw this on reddit and wanted to share with you guys. Yes i know he was essentially the biggest figure in WCW and bringing in fans and stuff but still its ridiculous.

Some highlights:

He got a $2,000,000 bonus just for signing the contract, paid to him within 14 days.

He was paid 25% of all ticket revenues for any Nitro or Thunder that he appeared. This amount could never be less than $25,000. (It's worth pointing out that the 25% was of the gross. Not the net, the gross. Which is just crazy. Any Nitro, any Thunder, any house show where Hogan appeared, he got a quarter of the money off the top, before any bills were paid.)

For any PPV that he appeared on, he got 15% of all PPV sales OR $675,000 -- whichever number was higher.

He got 50% royalty from every Hulk Hogan, NWO, Hollywood Hogan merchandise sales.

And ofcourse the infamous: Bollea(Hogan) shall have approval over the outcome of all wrestling matches in which he appears, wrestles and performs, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld.

I wonder how much SCSA or The Rock made in their peak?

EDIT: Does anybody have info on the first contract HH signed at WCW back in 94?

Which he claims he only ever invoked once (Bash at the Beach 2000).

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Holy ****, I would kill to have a contract like that

 

[KIRK]

They didn't call him Billionaire Ted for nothing.

Let's remember. Before that deal, WCW for all intents and purposes was a regional promotion still. The directive was to compete with WWE. They needed to make a splash. Hogan, if memory serves, was doing that TV show around the corner, so they made him an offer he couldn't refuse. And, the deal achieved its desired effect.

 

[quoipourquoi]

Let's remember. Before that deal, WCW for all intents and purposes was a regional promotion still. The directive was to compete with WWE. They needed to make a splash. Hogan, if memory serves, was doing that TV show around the corner, so they made him an offer he couldn't refuse. And, the deal achieved its desired effect.

Maybe the original contract. But this one? 1998. Very, very bad deal in 1998. They had enough talent to thrive without offering this much money and control.

 

[NYGBleedBlueNYR]

the same guy has the entire WCW payroll for 1998ish(there's several years on it actually)

I'm not gonna lie, I went through looking for who got 7 figures. It's pretty interesting imo

 

[iamjs]

the same guy has the entire WCW payroll for 1998ish(there's several years on it actually)

I'm not gonna lie, I went through looking for who got 7 figures. It's pretty interesting imo

They didn't call him Billionaire Ted for nothing.

some of these numbers are amazing, both high and low

a small sample size

1994:
Horace Hogan: 56,567.61
Hulk Hogan: 1,930,935.95 + 20,750.30 merch + 17,875.82 licensing
Stong: 72,205.46 + 3,629.82 + 11,905.01
Jerry Flynn 2,100.00

1996:
Ric Flair: 513,968.28
Scott Hall (listed as Scott Hall, Last Call Hall, and The Outsider): 379,295.49
The Disciple: 149,919.65

1997
Chris Adams: 20,259.99. I'm guessing this has to be a partial year on the roster.
Barry Darsow (as Blacktop Bully): 40,273.94
Hulk Hogan: 330,043.76 + 52,412.82 merch + 94.656.24 licensing
Sting: 913,303.50 + 29,836.61 + 17,007.26
Ultimo Dragon: 110,011.77 + 10,676.18 in licensing
Tom Benninghaus (member of Disorderly Conduct): 9,400.00
El Dandy: 17,001.52
Virgil: 109,452.71

1998
Brian Adams (Kronik): 213,612.70 + 19,786.85
Konnan: 391,970.19 + 20,970.77
Kevin Nash: 520,000
Marty Janetty: 117,252.34
Tom Benninghaus gets a raise to 18,630.00
El Dandy: 50,332.25, a 32k raise. Who are we to doubt El Dandy?

1999
DDP: 1,076,536.85 + 1,138.87 merch + 247,708.97
Jeff Farmer (NWO Sting): 143,009.43 + 1,033.61 licensing
Tank Abbott: 80,136.99
Goldberg: 4,650,001.77 + 10.002,94 merch + 531,120.65 licensing
Konnan: 474,675.66 + 4,999.55 in merch + 40,379.80 licensing
Master P: 293,000.00

2000
Tank Abbott: 624,258.51
Mike Awesome: 226,838.85 + 27.25 in merch. This was also the time where he was briefly "The career killer" and later turned into "the fat chick thrilla" and "that 70s Guy"
Terry Funk: 287,738.78
Hugh Morris/General Rection: 243,931.43
Horace Hogan: 137,082.56 + (-2.03) in merch. Yes, that's a negative number.
Hulk Hogan: 1,837,023.70 + 41,915.55 merch + 447,805.11 in licensing
Sting: 1,467,980.08 + 16,381.67 + 304,727.48
Jerry Flynn: 91,623.79
Both Bobby Duncum Jr and Beautiful Bobby lost 1.06 in merchandise.

 

[iamjs]

this one is in a better layout: http://www.scribd.com/doc/282738951/WCW-Talent-Contract-Database

 

[GarbageGoal]

If I recall, Lanny Poffo got paid 200,000 a year and never even went to a show.

 

[Paris in Flames]

I'm sorry. This guy got paid over 135K a year?!

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

Nearly half a million for Konnan.

If folks had the figures of these contracts back in 1998 I bet more people would have predicted the downfall of the company. It's easy to see how they started bleeding money.

Hell, after Hogan's cut of the gate and ppv buys, there was probably barely enough left to cover the paydays for all the wrestlers who appeared, especially since WCW had a dumb habit of flying out wrestlers who weren't even booked.

It's hard to believe that a big, successful corportation like that could be so inept in running a business. I'd be willing to bet Vince was paying Austin, Rock and HHH less than Ted was paying just Hogan in 1998.

 

[NYGBleedBlueNYR]

One thing I found interesting

Didn't Bischoff always talk smack about Luger coming back and how he paid him cheap because he didn't really want him?

This list appears to call bs? Maybe I have the timeline wrong

 

[Engebretson]

You guys should take a look at this link. It's all WCW contracts from 1996-2000

According to Page 8, Ed Leslie (Brutus Beefcake/The Butcher/The Disciple/Bootyman/Zodiac) made almost $700,000 from WCW between 1996-2000. Just shows that it pays to be friends with Hogan.

 

[Loosie]

I'm sorry. This guy got paid over 135K a year?!

That's nepotism for you.

 

[Ozz]

I have a hard time believing most of those guys even drew 10% of what they were being paid

 

[Eskie Jetski]

The contract also says Hogan got $150 per diem. That means it was his daily allowance? Also, how does that compare to your average per diem rate?

 

[NYGBleedBlueNYR]

The contract also says Hogan got $150 per diem. That means it was his daily allowance? Also, how does that compare to your average per diem rate?

$150 probably covers hotel & food & its tax free, that's average, technically I believe the rate for tax write off purposes changes based on where u are working

$150/night probably doesn't cover the hotels he stays though

 

[Scandale du Jour]

$150 probably covers hotel & food & its tax free, that's average, technically I believe the rate for tax write off purposes changes based on where u are working

$150/night probably doesn't cover the hotels he stays though

His per diem likely only covered food as it is said in the contract that he is to be provided first-class travel, a suite and a limo service.

 

[Ozz]

I have a hard time believing most of those guys even drew 10% of what they were being paid

On second thought, some of those guys I wouldn't believe even drew 10 cents.

The contract also says Hogan got $150 per diem. That means it was his daily allowance? Also, how does that compare to your average per diem rate?

In the contracts I sign for work, accommodations & car are paid by the client and separate from per diem. The per diem allowance itself, I've had clients who pay between $40-70 daily. There are variables, the largest of which surely is that he's HULK HOGAN, but $150 is pretty darn good! I wonder how it relates to high-powered "normal people" such as executives when traveling, etc.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

On second thought, some of those guys I wouldn't believe even drew 10 cents.




In the contracts I sign for work, accommodations & car are paid by the client and separate from per diem. The per diem allowance itself, I've had clients who pay between $40-70 daily. There are variables, the largest of which surely is that he's HULK HOGAN, but $150 is pretty darn good! I wonder how it relates to high-powered "normal people" such as executives when traveling, etc.

Executives generally have corporate credit cards. They put everything business-related on them and do an expense report. They don't get per diem per se.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

Nearly half a million for Konnan.

If folks had the figures of these contracts back in 1998 I bet more people would have predicted the downfall of the company. It's easy to see how they started bleeding money.

Hell, after Hogan's cut of the gate and ppv buys, there was probably barely enough left to cover the paydays for all the wrestlers who appeared, especially since WCW had a dumb habit of flying out wrestlers who weren't even booked.

It's hard to believe that a big, successful corportation like that could be so inept in running a business. I'd be willing to bet Vince was paying Austin, Rock and HHH less than Ted was paying just Hogan in 1998.

No wonder Vince didn't want to touch any of these guys.

 

[quoipourquoi]

Nearly half a million for Konnan.

Konnan was extremely over, and wasn't too far removed from being one of the biggest draws in the world in the mid-1990s. And he served an important role in bringing in some of their best wrestlers. If anything, that's an underpayment.