Report Reveals WWE’s Estimated Highest Paid Superstars In 2017

There’s a new report out today by Chris Smith of Forbes.com, revealing the top estimated earners among WWE Superstars in 2017. The information is based off of finance reports from WWE themselves and takes into account base salaries, merchandise sales, being in pay-per-view main events and outside sources. This year, John Cena takes the number one spot with an estimated $10 million in earnings, overtaking Brock Lesnar.

According to Forbes, it’s believed that part of this is due to Cena working more than he did in 2016 when he missed chunks of time due to injury, plus another estimated $2 million-plus coming from outside of WWE (movies, television, etc). Additionally, the report does not include front office executives Vince McMahon or Stephanie McMahon, as they did not compete in the ring. Also of note, Shane McMahon did not crack the top ten this year after doing so the year prior, being overtaken by Kevin Owens.

Here’s Forbes’ estimated top ten:

1 – John Cena ($10 Million)
2 – Brock Lesnar ($6.5 Million)
3 – Roman Reigns ($4.3 Million)
4 – AJ Styles ($3.5 Million)
5 – Triple H ($3.2 Million)
6 – Randy Orton ($2.9 Million)
7 – Seth Rollins ($2.7 Million)
8 – The Undertaker ($2.5 Million)
9 – Dean Ambrose ($2.2 Million)
10 – Kevin Owens ($2 Million)

EA’s Take: I think it’s important to remember that this is all estimated, however Forbes is generally a pretty solid source for these kinds of things. The list says a lot to me about why certain guys continue to get pushed, if it were a March Madness bracket, you would be calling it “chalky”. *Cough* Roman Reigns *Cough*. I’ve tried explaining to people numerous times why Reigns is where he is and all you have to do is look at this list to figure it out. Bottom line is, he draws and sells merchandise. WWE is a business. Making money is good.