Kurt Angle is a former Olympic medalist and retired professional wrestling heavyweight champion. He is famous for competing in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and is one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. But how much is he worth?
Kurt Angle is worth $25 million as of December 2022. Although a significant portion of his net worth comes from his wrestling career, he also makes money from acting and writing. Kurt has appeared in multiple movies and is also a published author.
In this article, we will detail Kurt Angle's financial history, salary, earnings, investments, endorsement deals, and what the future holds for this legend.
Kurt Career History
Kurt Angle started wrestling at age seven and was also good at football. He enrolled in the
Mt. Lebanon's first-year high school team, where he fought undefeated and qualified for the state wrestling tournament in his second year.
Kurt emerged third in the state tournament as a junior and became the Pennsylvania state wrestling champion in 1987 as a senior. He continued wrestling as an amateur when he joined the Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Kurt twice won the National Colleges Athletics Association Division 1 championship and was the 1987 USA junior freestyle champion.
Kurt Angle was the 1988 USA International Federation of Associated Wrestling styles junior world freestyle champion and continued his career after graduating from college. He won his first gold medal at the FILA wrestling world championships in Atlanta, Georgia, which motivated him to pursue his career further.
Angle put in the hard work to prepare for the 1996 summer Olympics by training 8-10 hours daily. However, he faced several challenges, including the death of his coach Dave Schultz and a severe neck injury during the Olympics trials.
Despite the challenges, he won the trials and spent five months recovering and rehabilitating. He won a gold medal in the Olympics heavyweight class despite a fractured cervical vertebra, two herniated discs, and four pulled neck muscles.
Kurt Angle first appeared in a pro-wrestling event in 1996 and signed with the world wrestling federation in 1999. He participated in the first televised WWF Storyline in March 1999 and his debut march in August of the same year. Kurt played several dark matches before his first televised in-ring match in November.
In February 2000, Kurt got his breakthrough by simultaneously participating in European and international championships. He won the King of the ring tournament in June and the WWF championships in October. In 2006, USA wrestling named him the greatest shoot wrestler of the time and one of the top fifteen college wrestlers.
Kurt left WWE in 2006 to join Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), becoming the national wrestling alliance heavyweight champion and the second triple-crown winner in TNAs history. He won the king of the mountain title twice and was inducted into the TNA hall of fame in 2013.
Kurt has won 21 championships and was named the world wrestling champion 13 times. He is the only pro wrestler in history to have won WWE championships, TNA world heavyweight championship, the WCW championship, and IWGP heavyweight championship. Kurt retired from professional wrestling to pursue acting and writing.
Kurt Angle's Titles and Awards
- 1987- USA Junior freestyle champion
- 1988- USA International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles Junior world freestyle champion
- 1995-Won a gold medal in FILA wrestling world championships
- 1996- Won a gold medal in the Summer Olympics
- 2006- USA wrestling named him the most outstanding shoot wrestler of the time
- 2006- Won the 2000 King of the ring tournament and the WWF championship
- 2016 – Inducted into the international sports hall of fame
- 2017- Inducted into the WWE hall of fame
Kurt Angle Achievements
- Four times winner of the WWF/WWE championship
- He has won 21 wrestling championships
- He is a 13-time world champion
- The only wrestler to be named king of the ring and king of the mountain
- He won an Olympic gold medal with severe neck injuries
- The fifth Grand Slam champion
- The second Triple crown winner in TNAs history
- A two-time king of the mountain
Kurt Angle Contract History
Kurt Angle earned most of his wealth from his successful wrestling career. Vince McMahon gave him the offer to join the WWE, where he would make $500,000 a year for ten years, but his agent advised him not to take it. Although he later joined the WWE after leaving his agent, he didn't get the initial offer.
In one of the episodes of The Kurt Angle Show, Kurt admitted he was guaranteed to earn $75,000 a year for five years when he joined WWE. However, his goal was to make $1 million in that year.
He exceeded his target when he made $30,000-40,000 from the sale of merchandise. Considering that top performers in WWE make seven figures a year, according to Forbes, he was one of the top performers of the time.
In the same episode, Kurt confessed that SummerSlam 2000 was his most tremendous breakthrough when he earned $75,000 in his match against Triple H and The Rock.
Kurt Angle earned a significant net worth from his contract with TNA. He first signed a five-year deal, which he renewed for another five years. Although he did not disclose exactly how much he earned, he admitted to earning seven figures each year throughout the 11 years tenure at TNA. Kurt has made a significant amount from his acting career.
He reaches over $2 million from podcasts, films, selling merchandise, and wrestling appearances.
Kurt Angle Real Estate Holdings and Endorsements
Kurt Angle owns a Coraopolis home a few miles northwest of Mt. Lebanon. He bought it for $649,000 in 2002, with four bedrooms and a private pool.
Due to his wrestling prowess, Kurt secured a WWE merchandise and Delzinski.com endorsement deal in 2015 that earned him more than $10 million. In 2019, he signed a five-year contract with WWE as a backstage producer, earning $350,000 per month.
Kurt Angle Business Dealings
Kurt Angle has established himself as a brand over his wrestling years and has received worldwide recognition as a professional wrestler and Olympic gold medalist. He has an official website selling pro-wrestling merchandise, autographed merchandise, and wrestling-themed gifts.
He also runs ‘Physically Fit,’ a thriving supplement company, and hosts a podcast—The Kurt Angle show, where he talks about his wrestling days and interviews fellow legends.
