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Hulk Hogan’s contract shows staggering scale of ‘Hollywood’ net worth as he dies aged 71

Hulk Hogan amassed a huge fortune thanks in no small part to a mega money contract he negotiated while wrestling as tributes poured in after his death at the age of 71

Hulk Hogan captivated audiences from the 1980s through to the late 2000s – banking some serious cash on the way(Image: WWE, WWE via Getty Images)

Hulk Hogan’s incredible net worth has been revealed after his death at the age of 71 spurred thousands of heartfelt tributes to the wrestling legend.

Born Terry Gene Bolloa in 1953, Hogan’s power barely waned over the decades since his heyday in the 1980s. Hogan was the face of the WWE, then known as World Wrestling Federation until 2002, before he pursued a career in Hollywood and made the controversial move to rival company World Championship Wrestling in 1994.

He stayed at WCW until its collapse in 2001, after a boom in the industry in the late 1990s saw Hogan’s value rise once again. Such was his appeal, that WCW handed him a lucrative new contract in 1998 that was due to run until 2002.

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That contract played a significant part in Hogan’s amassed wealth. His net worth was estimated to be around $25million (£18.5m) at the time of his death yesterday (Thursday, July 24).

The details of that very contract have now been disclosed once again. The contract was filed as an exhibit in a racial discrimination lawsuit WCW was hit with back in October 2000.

Hulk Hogan in 1995(Image: Ron Davis, Getty Images)

The contract, which began on May 29, 1998 and was due to run until May 28, 2000, included a staggering bonus Hogan was entitled to before wrestling under it. WCW offered Hogan an eye-watering $2m (£1.5m) just for agreeing to stay with the company.

As part of the contract, the late star was required to perform at six pay-per-view events a year for the first three years, in which he would be the “featured wrestler”. As a result, he was paid either a flat fee of $675,000 (£500,000) or 15 per cent of the PPV cable sales, whichever was greater, for each PPV.

But it didn’t end there. The contract states that WCW “shall pay” Hogan $1.35m (£1m) three times a year for three years as an advance for the PPV payments, and he earned up to $1.75m (£1.30m) per event, depending on the buy rate for each event.

Hulk Hogan during WCW’s heyday(Image: Steve Granitz, WireImage via Getty Images)

Hogan was entitled to 25 per cent of the gross arena ticket revenues for each WCW Nitro and/or WCW Thunder show in which he appeared and wrestled at. There was also a clause guaranteeing Hogan be paid no less than $25,000 (£18,600) per show.

A similar clause existed for non-televised shows, while he was also due a $100,000 (£74,300) “consultant fee” for the fourth year of the contract. If he wrestled, he was entitled to the same compensation per event as the first three years.

Hogan received royalties of 50 per cent of the “net receipts” and “actual licence fees” on all Hulk Hogan merchandise. He was also handed a promotional fee of $20,000 (£14,900) a month for every time he promoted his groundbreaking, controversial faction, the New World oder.

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Hulk Hogan makes his final WWE appearance during the company’s Netflix debut on RAW on January 6, 2025 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California(Image: WWE, WWE via Getty Images)

Finally, when he travelled for WCW, he received first class air travel, first class hotel accommodation, limousine service and $175 (£130) a day. The contract also included a controversial ‘creative control’ clause, which confirms that Hogan was able to approve the outcome of all of his matches.

In total, the contract meant that Hogan was guaranteed to be paid an estimated $14.9m (£11m) between 1998 and mid-2000, when he left the company. However, it’s plausible that he could have taken more than $20m (£14.9) when bonuses and extras were considered.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk


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