“Stone Cold” Steve Austin was undoubtedly one of the biggest stars ever in professional wrestling, and the biggest star of the legendary Attitude Era as well. Naturally, Austin was paid substantially more than the rest of the roster because of his star power, and according to Kurt Angle during an interview with “Sports Illustrated,” “The Rattlesnake” was making an eight-figure annual salary.
“Back then, there were only a handful of people — Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Undertaker, Triple H, a couple other guys, me — we were the only ones that had million-dollar guarantees,” he claimed. Angle further explained that he actually made a lot more than his guarantee, and that it was possible for wrestlers to make five times the amount, like Austin. “Someone like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, he was making 16 million a year.”
Contrasting pro wrestling and amateur wrestling, Angle recalled initially turning down a massive WWE deal only to ultimately sign for a smaller amount years later, and claimed that it was due to amateur wrestlers hating pro wrestlers. Later, watching Austin got him to duck out of a sportscasting job and fall in love with pro wrestling. “So, I called the WWE and I asked if that contract from 1996 still stood, and they said ‘No, but you can come up and try out,'” he recalled. “They offered me a contract, but the contract was only $75,000 a year, and let me tell you, that’s not a good contract.”
Angle explained that Austin would make around $13 million off his merchandise alone, and that this amount on top of his contract was why “The Rattlesnake” ended up making far more than anyone else. “I was horrible at it [selling merch], I didn’t come up with ideas, I wish I would have!” he recalled. “You know, Stone Cold Steve Austin was great at it, he got it right away. He said ‘I’m going to make a character and I’m gonna make a lot of money with this character.” Angle then admitted that he didn’t do this, and simply came into WWE to wrestle.
I didn’t come in with a business mindset, and I should have,” the veteran lamented. Looking back, Angle claims he was lucky to get his million-dollar guaranteed contract, since he wasn’t always pushing to make more money and was more focused on looking good in his matches.
“I should have had a better business mind when I started, because I could have made a lot more money, definitely sold a lot more merchandise!” Over the years Angle has often praised Austin, even going so far as to describe him as his dream WrestleMania opponent.
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