Sports Business Insider Austin Karp Breaks Down AEW's Negotiations With WBD

AEW's current media rights deal with Warner Bros Discovery is set to conclude by the end of this year, and the two companies are currently in the midst of negotiating a new contract. Various reports have emerged about the state of those talks, with some saying that AEW and WBD have agreed to a deal in principle without yet signing, while others have stated that there are still important details that AEW and WBD are negotiating.

Austin Karp, writer for the Sports Business Journal, has paid close attention to the WBD-AEW negotiations, as well as WBD's talks with the NBA, which have played a massive role in AEW's prospects with the company. Karp recently appeared on "Busted Open Radio" to share his perspective of the deal, stating that WBD must first figure out where it stands with the NBA before it turns its attention to AEW.

According to Karp, though WBD has made an attempt to match Amazon's offer to the NBA, the league and Amazon will likely make the argument that WBD's offer isn't really a match and take the issue to court. This could prevent AEW and WBD from putting ink to paper on a new contract until things are resolved, though the company has signed new agreements with other sports groups in the interim. However, it doesn't seem to have happened with AEW just yet.

"My sources tell me that the AEW deal is not done yet," Karp said. "I heard there's still a little bit of work to be done. I know [AEW CEO] Tony Khan's gonna be in Paris for the Olympics. David Zaslav's definitely gonna be there."

The exclusive window between the two companies reportedly ended sometime earlier this month, which would allow AEW to begin speaking with other companies. However, no substantial reports have emerged suggesting conversations anywhere else. Additionally, though a new deal isn't in place, Karp indicated that the two sides aren't too far off.

"I imagine they are probably close but [with] some numbers still to work out there," Karp continued. "I think AEW's gonna be in a good spot, because if I were a betting man, I'm not betting that the NBA stays with Warner Brothers Discovery. ... That leaves Warner Brothers Discovery with a mountain of cash, and that's probably why Tony wants to get the max value, because he's also reading the same sort of things that I'm reading."

Though "Busted Open" co-host Bully Ray pointed out that AEW is facing declining ratings, Karp doesn't believe that will deter WBD from giving the promotion a significant increase. His prediction was that AEW will receive between $110 and $115 million per year, which is more than double the $45 million per year AEW reportedly signed for in 2021.

If WBD happens to work things out with the NBA, it will cost them a great deal of money. With WBD already looking to alleviate its heavy debt load, Karp predicted that the NBA staying on TNT would be bad news for AEW.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.