Kurt Angle Talks Shocking Amount Of Money He Made His Rookie Year In WWE

Some WWE fans might know the story of how Kurt Angle originally turned down a massive offer from WWE, then came back a little while later to a much less sizeable contract. Still, that didn't stop the Olympic "hero" from making some pretty decent bank his first year.

When he passed up on a huge contract in 1996, then wound up circling back to WWE in 1999, Angle said the amount of money the company was offering him to become a pro wrestler was pennies on the dollar versus what they originally outlined. As such, he was determined to prove he could make some good money anyways.

During his new podcast, Angle talked about signing a modest $75,000 per year contract with WWE, but wound up making well over a million for his first 12 months. Funny enough, Angle said he told then-chief of Talent Relations Jim Ross he'd be making big bucks in an early meeting. JR didn't believe him but challenged Angle to prove him wrong.

Kurt went on to say that most of his money was made outside of merchandise sales. This is often where a number of WWE performers make really good money, because Angle was a heel, he didn't really have a shirt to push so he figures he made around "30 or 40 grand". It wasn't until late-2000 that the money started coming in for products you could buy with his likeness on it.

Angle Blew Past Any Expectations

That Angle was able to make more than $1 million in his first year with WWE demonstrates just how quickly he caught on to the business. He says he's proud that he did so well financially because of his in-ring talent alone.

WWE was recognizing him for putting on good matches and that he made $925K more than his guarantee meant Vince McMahon was happy to reward him for being so good at what he was doing.

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