Posted By James Walsh on 06/05/25
Roman Reigns is undoubtedly the biggest star in WWE and he obviously gets paid a ton of money for his work. However, it appears that TKO want to renegotiate his current contract.
While speaking on Lucha Libre Online, Hugo Savinovich said he was at the gym when he started receiving some surprising information. The details came from Lucha Libre Online President Javier González and Vice President Michael Morales. Savinovich noted that the more he looked into it, the more shocked he and it all had to do with Roman Reigns.
“I was at the gym receiving information and studying what I’m about to share with you. And wow—honestly—the more I saw the data being shared with me by Lucha Libre Online President Javier González and Vice President Michael Morales, I couldn’t believe it. After I finished at the gym, I sat down to look at everything—and what I’m going to talk to you about has to do with Roman Reigns. That’s right. Roman Reigns. I never thought we’d be discussing this topic. If I was surprised, I think you’ll be even more shocked.”
Savinovich noted that on The Last Word podcast, hosted by Jonathan Coachman and Tommy Carlucci, TKO executives are rethinking how they handle Roman Reigns’ contract. They don’t plan to release him, but they also don’t want to keep paying him $15 million a year.
“On the Last Word podcast, featuring Jonathan Coachman and Tommy Carlucci they revealed some shocking news. They said TKO executives are reconsidering how to handle Roman Reigns. While they won’t outright release him, he won’t be making $15 million per year anymore.”
Savinovich explained that Roman Reigns’ base salary was $5 million. On top of that, he earned extra money from pay-per-view matches, video game deals like WWE 2K, promotional events, merchandise where he received 30% from sales, and bonuses for international shows like those in Saudi Arabia. He also earned a share of ticket sales. Altogether, this added up to around $15 million a year.
Savinovich noted that even outside WWE, Roman Reigns was a strong brand. He had agents, but WWE still managed his outside deals and took a cut. Even then, Roman still made millions. He was also being considered for another Hollywood movie, and WWE would again take a share of those earnings since he was under contract.
“Now, why $15 million? Let me break it down. Roman Reigns’ base salary is $5 million. But then there are add-ons—pay-per-views, video game deals like WWE 2K, promotional appearances, merchandise royalties (he earns 30% on merch, which is huge), and special bonuses like appearances in Saudi Arabia. Plus, he earns a cut from ticket sales. All of this adds up to $15 million a year.
Even outside WWE, Roman is a valuable brand. He has agents, but deals still go through WWE, which takes a percentage. However, the bulk of the money goes to Roman Reigns. Right now, there’s talk of him being cast in another Hollywood film. And because he’s under WWE contract, WWE still takes their cut. But Roman still walks away with millions.”
Savinovich says TKO is trying to cut costs. They’ve already released some talent, and there are rumors of more to come. He also points out that WWE executive Nick Khan recently sold $4 million in stock, which got people talking.
At this point, TKO is said to be asking: If Roman wasn’t working full-time, why were they paying him full-time money? Savinovich noted that because of that, they want to renegotiate Reigns’ contract.
“And TKO? They’re cutting costs across the board. We’ve seen recent releases, and there are rumors of more. Remember when Nick Khan—a major WWE exec—announced he was selling $4 million worth of stock? That raised eyebrows. TKO is saying: Roman’s not around full-time. Why are we paying him so much? So, they want to renegotiate.”
We will have to wait and see whether TKO will actually end up renegotiating Roman Reigns’ contract eventually. In the meantime, fans are just waiting to see when Reigns will return to WWE television as he’s been absent since the RAW after WrestleMania 41, where Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker worked together and beat him down.