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>Typically, WWE owns the rights to its characters, not its wrestlers, but Marvel comics in the 1980s claimed WWE was infringing on its Hulk character. The two parties had a deal for 20 years that let the Hulk Hogan name be used for a nominal amount, according to Hogan while speaking on a 2023 podcast with Theo Von.
>After that deal expired around 2005, Hogan struck a one-year contract with Marvel to use the name out of desperation to make money. In the short term it was a terrible deal for Bollea—Marvel took 30% of all his earnings—but the contracts gave Bollea right of first refusal if Marvel ever tried to sell the Hulk Hogan name.
>“All of a sudden, Marvel Comics gets in a bitch fest with WWE about intellectual properties, that they can’t re-air old Hulk Hogan matches,” Hogan recounted. “Marvel Comics lost. They owe Vince $35 million. They made a huge mistake. They said, ‘Instead of paying $35 million, how about we give you the Hulk Hogan name.’ I heard about it and went, ‘You screwed up now.’ Because now I don’t have to pay $35 million for the name, you have to sell it to me at fair market value, which is only like 750 grand. So I bought the name back.”
>Bollea probably never made a better deal in his life. If Hulk Hogan’s name, image and likeness are on par with Monroe and Ali, the brand is probably worth at least what Marvel floated it as—$35 million.
>After that deal expired around 2005, Hogan struck a one-year contract with Marvel to use the name out of desperation to make money. In the short term it was a terrible deal for Bollea—Marvel took 30% of all his earnings—but the contracts gave Bollea right of first refusal if Marvel ever tried to sell the Hulk Hogan name.
>“All of a sudden, Marvel Comics gets in a bitch fest with WWE about intellectual properties, that they can’t re-air old Hulk Hogan matches,” Hogan recounted. “Marvel Comics lost. They owe Vince $35 million. They made a huge mistake. They said, ‘Instead of paying $35 million, how about we give you the Hulk Hogan name.’ I heard about it and went, ‘You screwed up now.’ Because now I don’t have to pay $35 million for the name, you have to sell it to me at fair market value, which is only like 750 grand. So I bought the name back.”
>Bollea probably never made a better deal in his life. If Hulk Hogan’s name, image and likeness are on par with Monroe and Ali, the brand is probably worth at least what Marvel floated it as—$35 million.
