Jinder Mahal Explains in Detail How WWE Contracts Work

Josh specialises in data driven news, with a passion for football as well as tennis. He has worked as a live match reporter, covering games across the EFL, and as a content writer for Anfield Central.

Josh was educated at Birmingham City University where he studied Sports Journalism. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account WWE fans have always wondered how much money the Superstars actually earn and how their contracts really work. Well, fortunately for them, former WWE Champion Raj Dhesi, who is known best as Jinder Mahal, has just pulled back the curtain on how the deals work behind closed doors, and it's a fascinating eye-opener.

Since leaving the company, Dhesi has been trying to help younger wrestlers understand the business side of the industry. In an honest video posted on his personal social media, the former "Modern Day Mahajara" deconstructed how WWE contracts are built around the 'the bucket system' model.

As he explains it, every wrestler starts with a downside guarantee. This is the base salary, the bare minimum WWE has to pay for signing someone on the roster. If they want to make a real life-changing amount of money, however, they would have to earn extra bonuses by getting on TV, wrestling in main events, and selling merchandise.

This is where the 'bucket system' kicks in, and gets a bit nuanced.

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"Think of it like a bucket," Dhesi said, explaining how those extra bonuses are tracked.

All through the year, every extra penny a wrestler earns from a T-shirt sale or a big Premium Live Event gets thrown into a virtual bucket. If they have a great year, headline a few shows, and the money in their bucket ends up being more than the base salary, WWE cuts a huge cheque for the difference at the end of the year.

Also, if they become injured, or if the creative team doesn't have anything for them, the bucket stays empty. While WWE doesn't make them pay back the difference, it means they don't get a single penny over the base salary.

The real shocker from Dhesi's video, though, is just how rare those big bonus cheques actually are.

WWE's creative team had to make changes due to Brock Lesnar's refusals.

He admitted that an incredible 90% of the WWE roster will finish each year with a negative bucket, meaning they never make enough bonuses to clear their base pay. While they also have to pay for their own travel, hotels, and food while on the road, that base salary begins to shrink fast.

As Dhesi continues his mission to inform younger wrestlers about taxes, write-offs, and saving for retirement, this will act as a stark reminder that the financial grind in wrestling is just as brutal as the physical one.