The Rock made his WWE debut at WWE Survivor Series 1996 as a highly touted prospect who seemed destined to become a top star.
The Rock failed to catch on a babyface Rocky Maivia, but found his footing alongside The Nation of Domination when he became The Rock. By 1999, The Rock was next to Steve Austin as the top stars in wrestling.
Speaking to Patrick Bet David, The Rock recalled his first contract negotiation with Vince McMahon.
"The relationship between Vince and I was a great relationship because it was based on my willingness to work for every dollar. Our relationship was about the work, willing to put in the work, and I have a tremendous, boundless respect for the business of pro wrestling that is so deeply important to him. That's his life. That's his world. It's his blood. I grew up in the business of pro wrestling. My grandfather wrestled for Vince's dad in the '70s. My dad wrestled for Vince in the '80s. I went into this with a tremendous amount of respect and reverence. Willing to put in the work, let's get to work. I shared this with Vince when I became The Rock and things started to take off for me. He said, 'What's next?' I said, 'I feel what's next is to take this brass ring and take it to places it's never been.' He said, 'Where is that?' 'I don't know. Let's figure it out together,'" he recalled.
He continued, explaining how much he was making on his first contract.
"I was coming up and my very first contract with WWE with Vince was a five-year contract for $150,000 a year. Keep in mind, not only taxes, but in the world of pro wrestling, I had to pay for everything. Hotel, food, transportation. $150 grand per year is great...when you're wrestling 250 dates a year, do the math with what you're getting per match. It was what it was. It was an opportunity for me. I came from seven bucks. This, great," he said.
He then went into his negotiations with Vince.
"It's time to renegotiate. About three years later, as I became The Rock, he wanted to renegotiate my contract two to three years in. A couple of wrestlers at that time had their own agents. I chose not to have an agent. He said, 'Are you going to have an agent? Are you looking for an agent?' 'I'm not. I'd like to negotiate with you directly. How we met was with a handshake, and I believe how we're going to do this is with a handshake.' Handshakes are very important to me. I always say my handshake is better than anything I ever sign. He said, 'Great. I love that. I respect it. What are you thinking?' I said, 'Who is the highest paid, if you don't mind me asking. Between us, who is the highest paid on the roster?' He said, 'Stone Cold Steve Austin.' 'What's his guarantee?' 'One million dollars.' 'I want two.' 'Two million?' 'Yes.' 'Guaranteed?' 'Yes.' He said, 'I'm just curious, where do you get that from? What are you figuring in your mind.' 'I love Steve, I respect him. If he's getting a million dollars. Where I see myself going is past a million dollars. I think it should be two.' He went, 'I understand that logic. Here's what I want you to do. I'm going to put you in contact with one of our executives. I need you to take a couple of months to understand the business. I need you to understand this side of the business from top to bottom. All of the economics. Understand our costs, overhead, look at what's allocated. Take the time and put in the work that you say you're committed to, in the ring, I respect that. Now, I want you to learn the business. Once you learn this business, then come back to me and we'll talk.'
"(I learned) what the overhead costs were, what the costs are of the venue, what the state tax is, the allocation for the wrestlers, the percentage of the gate. I didn't take three months. It was maybe two weeks. It was baptism by fire, and I learned to absorb as much as I could about the business. I went back to Vince, I thanked him and gave him a big hug. I said, 'I understand now. I'd like to match it at a million dollars, what Steve is getting. Thank you for taking me through it.' We had a great conversation and he said, 'How much do you think you're going to make this year?' 'My guarantee is a million. I've been averaging about 50% over my guarantee. So, maybe 1.5?' He said, 'Now that you've taken yourself through that and understand the business, you're going to make $15 million.' He did the math and could see where it goes. 'You'll make $15 million.' By the time we had 1999-2000, wrestling has a boom period."
The rest is history.
The Rock went on to make well over $15 million between his ventures in wrestling, Hollywood, and business.
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