On November 1, 1997, McMahon confronted Hart about reneging on the 20-year contract he had offered him a year earlier. WWE was in dire financial straights and could no longer afford to pay Hart the negotiated sum. He wanted very much to deter payment to later, hoping that his company would turn things around and become financially stable. Having put his body through hell for a decade for McMahon, Hart was, understandably, unwilling to risk a scenario in which he was never fully compensated for the bumps he was taking on a nightly basis. This left McMahon with no other alternative. He granted Hart permission to negotiate a deal with Bischoff and WCW, going as far as to help Hart in the process. Hart and Bischoff negotiated a three-year, $9 million deal that made the Hitman one of the highest paid wrestlers on the planet. By agreeing to that contract, Hart brought an end to one of the greatest careers in WWE history. It was a sad end to a relationship between he and McMahon that had spawned so much time and saw Hart lead the company through the dark days of the mid-90s.