WWE Rumors: NXT reportedly not working at a profit
What's the story?
NXT may have paved the way for a number of WWE's bigger stars on the main roster at present, but the brand seemingly doesn't make WWE any money and is actually running at a loss.
In case you didn't know...
NXT was first established back in 2012 and has since become a phenomenon all of its own. Triple H has made WWE's developmental brand into its own entity and it's thought that the regular Takeover events often show up WWE's main brand stars.
Despite the fact that NXT has been used as a feeder to their main brands over the past few years, this seems to be the only way that the developmental brand has been profitable since there is no money currently being made by NXT or the Performance Center.
The heart of the matter
The Wrestling Observer recently looked into whether or not NXT was seen as a profitable brand, which looked into The Sports Business Journal's recent report that shared the fact that new WWE talents that are signed to developmental contracts are paid on average $50,000 to $150,000 per year, with the average pay for developmental talents being around $80,000 per year.
The Observer went on to note that if the talents who were currently at both the original and United Kingdom-based Performance Center, then the brand is definitely running at a loss.
Whilst it's believed that NXT has to bring in some kind of profit, this isn't necessarily the case since The Observer added "that looking at the brand as a separate wrestling company with the roughly $8 million in talent costs factored in with the annual ticket gross of $6.4 million and the $1 million in merchandise, which is likely on the higher end, plus no TV revenue, then the revenue doesn't cover talent salaries, let alone travel, rentals, marketing and promotion, and TV taping costs. The Observer also noted that by those old standards, NXT would be a big money loser."
What's next?
NXT will continue to churn out Superstars who will become stars on the main roster, but it appears that the brand itself isn't actually seen as profitable as a standalone wrestling promotion.
Do you think WWE needs NXT to make a profit? Have your say in the comments section below...