MJF sat on the sidelines until AEW was willing to give him a raise, and a recent report indicates that he's now making seven figures. Earlier in 2022, The Salt Of The Earth went public over his issues with what he was getting paid, culminating in an epic pipe-bomb-style promo on June 1. After that segment, he vanished from the company, and AEW essentially acted like he never existed. His merch was pulled from the store, he was removed from the opening graphic of Dynamite, and the announcers never even acknowledged that his promo had happened.
It's still unclear how much of what went down between MJF and AEW was a work, but he didn't appear on programming for over three months. During that time, Tony Khan was busy handling numerous backstage issues, including heat between CM Punk and the Being The Elite crew, heat between Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker, an unhappy Miro and Malakhai Black seeking his release from AEW. Friedman eventually got what he wanted and was given a significant bump in pay to show back up at the All Out pay-per-view.
Wrestling salaries aren't public knowledge (at least not like in North America's big-four sports), but Dave Meltzer recently shed some light on what MJF is believed to be making now that he's back on AEW television. From the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter: "MJF did an interview with Ariel Helwani to promote the Arthur Ashe Stadium show. He said that he got a huge raise in pay to return (based on things we heard it's was more than $1 million per year) and claimed he did not have to sign an extension and his contract expires on January 1, 2024."
MJF Is Worth Every Cent For AEW
All of the highest-paid people in AEW are either former WWE stars or have EVP titles. Jon Moxley, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks are all believed to make significantly more than $1 million a year. It's been rumored that Moxley makes $6 million, for instance, and odds seem good that Punk would have been brought in at around the same number, at least. That seemed to be the biggest issue MJF had with his old salary. He even said as much during his infamous promo on June 1, when he wondered out loud if more money would be available if he was an ex-WWE guy.
MJF considers himself a significant draw for AEW, and the ratings tend to back that claim up. Unsurprisingly, guys like Chris Jericho, who are already getting their bag took issue with MJF sitting out and wanting more money, while Ricky Starks said he didn't blame him. This might eventually be an enormous collective win for homegrown AEW talents like Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Wardlow, especially as their original deals expire and it comes time to renegotiate. A rising tide lifts all ships, after all.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter