Report: Dolph Ziggler’s WWE Deal Is Worth $1.5 million Per Year

WWE superstar Dolph Ziggler has reportedly signed a new deal with the company, and it’s a lucrative deal that shows just how much the brand values its primary “gatekeeper”.

For years, Dolph Ziggler’s cult following of fans have lamented the fact that the former two-time world champion has never been pushed as a top star in WWE. Recently on the Edge and Christian podcast, Ziggler discussed his options, and it sounded like he would consider leaving the company due to all the losses his character has been forced to absorb in the past several months.

Instead, Ziggler has re-signed with WWE, which has ostensibly dropped the storyline in which Dolph “walked out” after winning the United States Championship at Clash of Champions. Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso reports that it’s another two-year deal for Ziggler, and it will be worth $1.5 million per year.

That’s big money, and it represents a solid raise for the two-time Survivor Series “Sole Survivor”. Ziggler is said to have made $900,000 per year under his last contract despite being a “jobber to the stars”.

Fans have speculated that Ziggler could be a huge star, a la Cody Rhodes, outside of WWE, with fans “dreaming” of him joining NJPW or Ring of Honor. But WWE is Ziggler’s home, and it’s the only company he has known ever since climbing the ladder into the upper mid-card.

Barrasso adds in his report that “multiple sources close to WWE” informed him that Dolph always planned on re-signing with the company. That indicates there was no risk of him actually leaving, which is perplexing on the surface. Because if WWE were confident (note that the information comes from sources within WWE) that Ziggler would re-sign, why did they have him relinquish the US Title on his own volition? And why did they write him off of TV?

Perhaps it was for storyline purposes, but that doesn’t add up due to the fact that they have dropped this storyline rather quickly. A possible explanation? They wanted to give Ziggler a title win, but they didn’t want him to hold the US Title. Another explanation? Maybe they wanted to be 100% sure and didn’t want the title-holder to have an expiring contract. But they did want Ziggler to win the title, because they wanted to try to prove to Ziggler that they are serious about booking him like a semi-reasonable threat.

On the most recent episode of SmackDown Live, Ziggler defeated Sami Zayn with a “Superkick” in an excellent main event match to join a Fatal Four-Way for the WWE Championship at Fastlane. It also appears that Ziggler is back to being a babyface.

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Ziggler’s re-signing with WWE was first reported by Bin “The Hacker” Hamin on The Locker Room Podcast, who stated that Ziggler will also have freedom to pursue outside projects. His love for comedy and politics are both well-documented, and he’s also had ways to pursue those passions on a professional level.