WWE Lands Massive $7.1M Subsidy for SummerSlam 2025 at MetLife Stadium

TKO, the parent company of WWE and UFC, is raking in massive public subsidies, with WWE’s upcoming two-day SummerSlam event at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, scoring a record-breaking $7.125 million from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). This is the largest known subsidy for a WWE event in the U.S., blowing past the $330,000 subsidy for SummerSlam 2021 in Las Vegas and the $500,000 provided for the 2024 Royal Rumble in Tampa.

The SummerSlam payout will offset a negotiated incentive fee tied to the event’s projected $80.7 million economic impact on the region, including $32.4 million in wages and salaries. NJSEA cited increased global visibility and economic activity for local businesses, hotels, and restaurants as key benefits of hosting the massive event. WWE commissioned the economic impact study from Applied Analysis, a common practice for large-scale sports and entertainment events.

In addition to WWE’s big payday, UFC, another TKO brand, also secured a $5 million subsidy earlier this year for UFC 302 in Newark. Both subsidies draw from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund, part of the American Rescue Plan, designed to boost New Jersey’s tourism and hospitality sectors. The SummerSlam funding still needs approval from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.

TKO CEO Mark Shapiro recently emphasized WWE’s growing appeal to potential platform partners at the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference, noting, “The PLEs are seeing significant audiences. The marketing around the events has been terrific. That one in particular lends itself to even more suitors than the UFC, dare I say, because the nature of the PLEs, which are once a month. There are a lot of platforms out there that are looking for premium and also looking for volume.”

Shapiro also hinted at future opportunities for WWE’s Premium Live Event (PLE) library when their deal with Peacock ends in 2026, saying, “Obviously, we’ll start those conversations at some point in the first half of next year with Peacock, exclusively, but we’re interested to talk to other suitors. They know that, by the way.”

WWE SummerSlam 2025 will take place on August 10 and 11 at MetLife Stadium, bringing not only wrestling action but also a financial windfall for the region.