Dave Meltzer Assesses Impact Of AEW Broadcast Deal On Wrestling Industry

AEW's media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery has finally been announced, and there are a lot of details that have gotten AEW fans very excited. The deal will commence in January 2025, and will run through the end of 2027, which the option of an extra year that would reportedly be worth more than the $185 Million per year that the current three-year deal is worth. Both "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision" will stream live on MAX for the first time ever, while also remaining in their regular timeslots on TBS and TNT, and later on in 2025, AEW's pay-per-views will also be available on MAX.

With all this money, AEW is now the second-most profitable wrestling company in history behind WWE, and on "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer noted that while this is a big win for AEW and the fans, the group that can really benefit from AEW's new cash influx are the wrestlers themselves.

"[AEW] can afford this roster now, so as far as the idea of overpaying [talent] ... salaries of wrestlers is going to go way up," Meltzer said. "This company now has the ability to pay a lot more, WWE has the ability to pay a lot more, and a top wrestler when — I would tell like any top wrestler like 'get the shortest-term contract possible over the next couple of years, because if you're good, the demand for your services is going to be very, very high." Meltzer also explained that how profitable AEW can be depends on how much Tony Khan wants to invest back into the company, and that he knows of a lot of people who have had good ideas on how to improve AEW.

Please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.