8 Intriguing Implications Of Brock Lesnar At UFC 200
5. The WWE ‘Independent Contractor’ Set-Up Is Called Into Question (Again)
Fundamentally, as an independent contractor, Brock Lesnar should have the right to appear for whoever he likes, and should be able to wrestle for the WWE and fight for the UFC anytime, provided the dates don’t clash... but the exclusivity agreement he has with the WWE denies him that right. It’s the same for all WWE superstars.
Back in the territorial days, long term contracts were a rarity. People worked short term or on handshake agreements, and were free to move around the country or even overseas as they wished, more or less. Performers like Abdullah The Butcher and Bruiser Brody made careers out of being true special attractions, moving from territory to territory, making an impact and moving on.
Contracts with long lifespans and downside guarantees were how Vince McMahon Jr was able to steal so many performers from the AWA, JCP, Georgia, Florida etc back in the eighties: he offered good money and greater job security.
Well, that was a long time ago. It's been an open secret for years that WWE's old-fashioned independent contractor set-up is dodgy at best, and illegal at worst. The WWE treats its talent as employees and forces them to work long weeks exclusively for the company, under severe, demanding terms of service, levying huge fines (ie, docking pay) as disciplinary measures.
However, the legal status of those performers remains the same as the self-employed people who fit your kitchen, or who fix your kids’ teeth.
Such an arrangement favours the WWE, as they get to control almost every aspect of their performers’ working lives (even down to demanding a dress code while in public), but they don't have to provide benefits or expenses, or pay tax on their behalf. Put simply, their exclusive, draconian contractual terms don't fit - legally - with the definition of an independent contractor.
Legally speaking, Vince McMahon isn’t Zack Ryder’s boss. Vince McMahon is Zack Ryder’s client.
Independent contractors who believe they’ve been misclassified by those who hire their services - that they’re employees, not self-employed - are free to report the issue to the IRS, yet no wrestler ever has, to my knowledge. Why? It’s the same reason that WWE feels free to operate in such a blatantly illegal manner: WWE superstars are supposed to be so grateful to work there that they would never question the manner under which they’re employed.
CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio and Lesnar himself famously made successful legal challenges to their exclusivity clauses after leaving the WWE. If enough WWE superstars queried the terms of their employment or if enough sought after talent refused to sign such dodgy contracts in the first place, the system would collapse and the WWE would be investigated by the IRS.