If NBA commissioner Adam Sterling is taking down payments for the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers that he hopes to push through soon, he might want to have that check from Vince McMahon examined for insufficient funds.
Several media outlets reported Friday a new television contract that the WWE negotiated with NBC Universal was so bad that the WWE's stock plummeted nearly 50 percent before making a minor comeback to a 43 percent loss.
According to AwfulAnnouncing.com, the deal with NBC Universal will push the WWE's global rights fees to $200 million, and the domestic rights fees will jump from $90 million to $150 million.
So what's the problem?
AwfulAnnouncing.com reported that the WWE was comparing its television audience to that of NASCAR, which will make more than $800 million per year in its upcoming contract with NBC and Fox. The WWE had made $140 million domestically from rights fees, and sought to double or even triple their rights fees.
When that did not happen, investors deserted the stock. According to Larry Brown Sports, McMahon lost almost $350 over the plummeting stock since the announcement was made Thursday.
Forbes valued McMahon at $750 million as of early Friday morning, losing his billionaire status of $1.1 billion before the TV deal became public.
He argued in a statement obtained by CNN.com that the $200 in global rights fees were nearly double from "the recent past" and that the WWE's new online streaming service already attracted 660,000 subscribers in six weeks with a goal of one million by year's end. The target audience is supposed to help recover costs that the WWE stands to lose in pay-per-view events because it is offering the PPV shows to the streaming service.
The company announced that the online service would lose some $45 million to $52 million in 2014.
McMahon's name has been circulated as a possible bidder for the Los Angeles Clippers, which Forbes estimates is worth more than $1 billion.
If McMahon had an interest, the recent plunge in his estimated worth would push him very low on the suggested buyers list.
Do you think the WWE is in trouble financially after agreeing to a significantly less lucrative TV contract than it had hoped? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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