ESPN Addresses 'Completely False' Rumors About Future WWE Contract After Historic $1.6B Deal

ESPN has strongly denied an SEScoops report stating that it has already decided against renewing its five-year contract with WWE to be the exclusive American home for all Premium Live Events (PLEs).

Ben Cafardo of ESPN's Communications team released a statement on the matter, calling the rumors "categorically false."

Per CNBC's Alex Sherman, who cited people familiar with the deal back in Aug. 2025, ESPN is paying WWE an average of $325 million per year from 2026-2030.

ESPN Unlimited has shown WWE PLE's since Wrestlepalooza in Sept. 2025. That got the deal off to a big start, as the event featured John Cena, who was nearing the end of his retirement tour, taking on Brock Lesnar.

WWE has been promoted quite a bit on ESPN networks since the deal struck. All the biggest WWE events have appeared under the ESPN banner, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.

WWE and ESPN appear to be all-in on this deal off the bat, and the one-year anniversary of the first PLE on ESPN Unlimited is rapidly approaching.

Ultimately, ESPN has clearly stated it's not looking for a way to back out. And in other news, three PLE's remain in 2026: Sunday Night's Main Event (Sept. 6), Money in the Bank (Oct. 10) and Survivor Series: WarGames (Nov. 28).