WWE has increasingly followed the same model as UFC in securing site fees and in-kind agreements from host cities, something that has become a major focus for both the company and its parent group TKO. TKO president Mark Shapiro has frequently highlighted the strategy.

The numbers for 2024 alone show how valuable these deals have become. WWE will collect $5 million for November’s Survivor Series in San Diego, an additional $5 million in site fees plus $4.2 million in tax credits for WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, and $7.1 million for SummerSlam in New Jersey this August. Looking further ahead, WWE and TKO are set to receive a staggering $100 million for bringing WrestleMania 43 to Saudi Arabia in 2027, along with significant revenue from this January’s Royal Rumble.

Speaking with Puck’s John Ourand, WWE president Nick Khan explained when the company realized it needed to pursue these deals more aggressively. He recalled learning that UFC had secured around $3 million from Salt Lake City, Utah, for an event.

“I looked at our current WrestleMania deal, and we were getting around $150,000 for WrestleMania, and what I call ‘posters around the city’ , otherwise known as value-in-kind. So we got an economic impact report, and got into the subsidy business,” Khan said.

This weekend, WWE arrives in Indianapolis, Indiana, for Wrestlepalooza. The company signed an agreement with the Indiana Sports Corp in June 2024, although financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

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