Analyzing Forbes's List Of WWE's Highest Earners

Brock Lesnar was, by far, the most moneymaking WWE superstar of 2016, earning $12 million during the year - but that number is a bit misleading. Not only does it take into account the pay he earned for WWE, but it also includes all of his revenue from fighting at UFC 200.

The split was just about 50/50, meaning that Brock earned the same $6 million from WWE in 2016 as he did in 2015. It's hard to call his contributions the same, though. In 2015, Brock reigned as WWE Champion, having great matches at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania before engaging in a thrilling feud with Undertaker later in the year. In 2016, his WrestleMania and SummerSlam matches were bombs, and the most exciting thing he did was get squashed by Goldberg at the Survivor Series.

Meanwhile, his return to the Octagon at UFC 200 was supposed to be a major event, and it looked like it at first - after nearly five years away from the sport, Lesnar dominated respected heavyweight contender Mark Hunt. Unfortunately, after the bout, it was revealed that Lesnar failed a drug test. His win was overturned, 10% of his $2.5 million purse was taken away (though his PPV revenue bonus wasn't touched), and he was suspended for a year. A furious Hunt threatened to sue UFC for putting him in an unsafe working environment, and the perception around Lesnar changed immediately - he was a cheater, not a conqueror, and there was no way for UFC to follow up on his waning momentum.

Was he worth it? No.