Can WWE Afford To Pay Its Wrestlers Healthcare?

In a word; yes.

Thanks to some exclusive analysis from Fightful's Brandon Thurston, we know that the financials for WWE are well within what they could afford. The company make a net profit of almost $100m last year, a figure that is only projected to rise with additional TV money, overseas events, and more effective merchandising. His estimates for entirely covering the roster - even when leaning everything towards the most costly possible scenarios - come in at under $30m. The reality would likely be considerably less than this.

After taking a huge loss of almost $40m in 2014 as the company tore up its PPV model and gambled its longterm future on the WWE Network, everything has now levelled out. Thanks to a combination of 2 million+ fans paying $9.99 a month, and various nation states throwing absurd money at the company for long-term business partnerships, WWE is now more profitable than it ever has been. Even adjusting for inflation, it makes more money now that it even did in it's 1999/2000 creative peak.

Now that it's immediate future on TV is also secure until around 2024, that situation is only going to improve. Conservative estimates for WWE's forthcoming profit margins have them exceeding $100m for at least the next few years, and that's without factoring in any variables like particular superstars breaking into the mainstream and driving merchandise sales, or improbably successful projects from WWE studios (which could happen, shut up).