According to a new report from the Nevada Current, per an application that was approved earlier this month by the Governor’s Office for Economic Development and the Nevada Film Office, WWE is set to receive $4.2 million in transferable film tax credits for WrestleMania 41 and related events.
The report also notes that tax abatement is on top of a $5 million sponsorship from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which was approved back in May 2024.
Further more it was stated the $4.2 million in transferable film tax credits represents roughly 12 percent of the $33.7 million total production budget WWE estimated for the big two-night event and the episodes of SmackDown, Raw and NXT at nearby T-Mobile Arena. It was also said however, the $4.2 million is more than half of what WWE had estimated it would spend on local labor and at local businesses.
WWE said they estimated they would pay $2.6 million in wages to Nevada residents and $17 million to out-of-state talent. Both amounts, in addition to $5.3 million in in-state spending on hotels and catering were considered as qualified expenses determine the amount of film tax credits the WWE is eligible to receive.
The application, which is considered a public record, highlights the operations of Nevada’s transferable film tax credit program, which is currently capped at $10 million per year but is being considered for huge expansion through a pair of competing bills in the Nevada state legislature. An application was submitted by Event Services LLC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WWE and was approved by the Nevada Film Office, a division of GOED, at a meeting back on April 3.
The report also notes the main reason that WWE is eligible for the film tax credits, is due to SmackDown, Raw and NXT Stand & Deliver being held at the T-Mobile Arena and broadcast on television or streaming services.
It was further stated by the Nevada Current that WrestleMania is not representative of most productions that apply for Nevada’s film tax credits because it is a live event that generates ticket sales, which will directly generate revenue for the state through live entertainment tax and indirectly through tourist hotel rooms and sales tax.
The Nevada current provided further details and a breakdown of how WWE received the $4.2 million, which is courtesy of the publication below:
When applying for transferable film tax credits, companies must disclose their total budget and break down what amounts are being spent on labor and other types of expenditures.
According to the WrestleMania application, which is dated early March, WWE estimated a total budget of $33.7 million, including:
- $2.4 million for Nevada stagehands,
- $2.7 million for non-resident “below-the-line” labor,
- $17 million for non-resident “above the line” talent,
- $5.3 million in Nevada expenditures,
- $8.6 million in non-Nevada expenditures, and
- $260,000 for Nevada security workers.
WWE estimated their five events SmackDown, WrestleMania, NXT Stand & Deliver, Raw and this past Tuesday’s NXT episode would hire 450 Nevadans for 22,100 hours. This works out to an hourly wage rate of $121.71.
As for non-Nevadan labor, they estimated 300 “above the line” people — those are the executives, directors, and top-billed performers like John Cena and Cody Rhodes — earning $17 million and 450 “below the line” people working 10,800 hours for $2.7 million.
The $5.3 million in non-labor in-state spending is further broken down:
- $3 million on miscellaneous expenses,
- $855,000 in freelancer hotel expenses,
- $369,000 in hotels for talent,
- $323,921 in equipment rental,
- $106,000 for catering, and
- $40,137 for props, stunts & gags.
Nevada Current indicates WWE had put in requests that talent expenses and building rents budget items to be considered as confidential and therefore redacted from their otherwise public application. That is a common request granted by GOED. Cumulative spending that was listed on the spreadsheet suggests around $62,000 was spent on building rent and related expenses.
This past Tuesday, TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in a press release stated that Wrestlemania 41 was “the most-successful and highest-grossing” in company history. However, TKO did not disclosure any of the financial amounts.
Nevada Current concluded their report by stating that WWE noted that on press materials and on their application submitted to GOED, WrestleMania brings “more than $200 million in economic impact for host cities on an annual basis.”