10 Things We Learned Listening To Jesse Ventura On Steve Austin's Podcast
3. How Jesse Won His Lawsuit Against Vince McMahon
After Jesse's first split with Vince McMahon over "Predator", McMahon wanted to bring him back due to NBC's demand. Prior to opening up communications with Vince again though, Jesse hired an agent.
Every year, the aforementioned Barry Bloom would ask about videotape royalties. The fact is that Vince wasn't required to pay royalties but instead of saying that, WWF said they didn't pay royalties to any of their talents. That statement proved to be false.
As it turned out, McMahon did pay royalties but only to a select few talents such as Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, and Cyndi Lauper. Once this came out in the courts, it proved that the WWF was not truthful in their negotiations with Jesse, which is illegal, and the case was awarded to Jesse Ventura.
On the podcast, Jesse told Austin that he's received checks upward of six figures in royalty payments thanks to the court's decision. Ventura also pointed out that royalties are the reason why Vince doesn't bring Jesse back to WrestleMania because he would then need to pay Jesse even more money.