WWE Willingly Paid This Legend Millions To Do NOTHING
Vince McMahon wouldn't let Jim Ross change this WWE icon's contract.
Jim Ross revealed on his 'Grilling JR' podcast that Shawn Michaels earned up to $750,000 per year between 1998-2002.
HBK did work for the first few months of '98, and did return for a memorable second run from the summer of '02 onwards, but he didn't do much in the interim. In fact, he was paid a ton of cash to occasionally pop in as an on screen Commissioner and act as an ambassador for the company.
JR said that Shawn's contract would regularly come up during budget meetings with Vince. However, the WWE chief wouldn't budge on the $750,000 figure and told Ross to 'leave it alone'. He wanted to take care of Michaels, and Jim could see that there was a unique father and son-like bond between both men.
He knew better than to confront the boss over such matters.
It's still amazing that WWE paid Shawn so much money for so little. Their loyalty would eventually pay off though - Michaels' second run with the company between 2002-2010 remains one of the best ever. It was arguably even better than his first full-time stint.