Former WWE Star Says Hulk Hogan's WCW Deal Was 'Most Lucrative' In Wrestling History

It's no secret that Hulk Hogan's creative control was one of the most controversial aspects of his WCW contract throughout the late 1990s, with many who worked for company claiming that he often went into business for himself. However, Hogan's creative control was just one of the perks built into his WCW contract, as former WWE star David Otunga recently got his hands on the "The Hulkster's" first agreement with the promotion, and revealed the signing bonus on his initial deal. 

"As far as I know, it is the most lucrative contract in professional wrestling history," Otunga stated on his YouTube channel. "First of all, he was paid a two million signing bonus that was paid within 14 days. Now, that right there is wild ... this is way higher than most talents downside guarantee, but this is Hulk Hogan." 

Otunga continued by sharing Hogan's incentives for both pay-per-views and WCW's weekly events, while revealing the number of shows that the Georgia native needed to attend per year.

"So now there's guaranteed pay-per-view advances of 1.35 million three times a year and this is for years one through three of the term. Hogan is only required to attend six pay-per-views a year ... aside from pay-per-views, Hogan is only required to attend 16 TV tapings per year," he explained. "The pay-per-view compensation structure ... Hogan will get paid either 15% of the domestic pay-per-view sales or $575,000 per event."

Otunga also stated that Hogan's contract by today's standards would be worth 6.5 million dollars, which is roughly the amount on Roman Reigns' current WWE deal. That said, Otunga doubts that Reigns earns more than his downside guarantee, making Hogan's contract still the most lucrative agreement in wrestling history.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "David Otunga" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.