Cody Rhodes says the top of WWE's roster is now paid at a level that matches major professional sports. According to Ringside News, he made the case while speaking on the Flagrant podcast, where he was asked about WWE's pay structure and how the business has changed financially.
A different wrestling economy
Rhodes said the economy around wrestling has shifted because wrestlers have other places to work. In his words, the money in wrestling and sports entertainment is "very good."
He added that the figures would stun wrestlers from the generation of his father, Dusty Rhodes. Guaranteed contracts, he said, are now the norm at the highest levels, and he described that as a huge responsibility. He also said his mother did not understand it when he first told her what the numbers were.
Asked about what a new signee might earn, Rhodes said he did not know the exact developmental pay scale. He did say that everything is in the six figures, according to Ringside News.
The "next level" tier
Rhodes then deferred to WWE President Nick Khan, whom he credited with a way of describing the company's earning tiers. As Rhodes relayed it, some performers will do well, some will do really well, and a few named names will reach what Khan calls "next level."
Rhodes said that top tier is where the change has been most dramatic. His assessment, as quoted by Ringside News: next-level pay is now comparable with sports.
Fame without the paycheck
Rhodes framed the shift as a source of pride. Wrestlers, he said, have long traveled the world and been widely recognized, yet when baseball and NBA contracts came up, their income did not match that exposure. He described wrestling as having had the reach but not the earnings.
He credited the current TKO era of WWE, along with Khan, for changing that.
Why it matters
The comments come from a performer near the top of the WWE roster, and they concern the highest tier of earners, not the full locker room. Rhodes did not give specific figures in the portion Ringside News reported, so the comparison to major sports rests on his own characterization.
Reporting sources: Ringside News, “Cody Rhodes Claims WWE’s Top Pay Is Now Comparable to Major Pro Sports”.
