Question about Bret Hart's departure/contract

[IGotAHugePeckah]

So the way I understand Bret's departure is...

Bret gets an offer from WCW, but Vince wants him to stay so he offers him a crazy 20-year contract that doesn't pay as much money per year, but obviously is worth more money than WCW's 3-year offer. Bret decides to stay with WWF and signs the contract. Shortly after, Vince gets buyer's remorse and realizes he either can't or doesn't want to pay out that much money to Bret, and asks to restructure the contract, to which Bret refuses. Vince then tells him that he should contact WCW to see if their offer is still on the table, Bret does and jumps ship.

But I've never heard of how Vince got out of the contract. Did he buy Bret out? Did he have some kind of escape clause in it? I heard Dave Meltzer say that Bret's WWF contract was like 1.5 million for 20 years... if that's true, why would Bret choose to get out of that contract? Bret was 40 when he signed it, so even if WCW was paying double that per year, he had to know he was at the tail end of his career so that gauranteed 1.5 a year until he was 60 must have sounded a lot better.

I'm not a lawyer, but I didn't think you could just sign a contract with a guy and a few months later say "oh wait never mind, I don't want to give you that money".

 

[Pliny Pete]

Bret never got an offer from WCW

 

[tec87]

I don’t know all of the logistics but from what I’ve heard(prichard’s Podcast, etc), the contract was for 20 yrs but was set up to be higher on the front end when he would be an active competitor and decrease over time with the belief that he would transition to a backstage role like an agent, etc. So it’s not like it was a 20yr contract at 1.5-2 mill a year for the entire run of the contract. I think Prichard said it would have been probably 300k a year as an agent.

I’m sure I will get corrected on this as I’m not as invested in the screwjob saga like some on here. Lol

 

[milliniar]

Bret screwed bret

 

[HereticBD]

Vince wasn't in the business of guaranteed contracts, so I'm sure he had an opt out clause in there.

I don't really know how it all went down though.

 

[LTorino]

Good question. My GUESSING of the situation was Bret didn't want to fight it out in court and lose out on his few years left. Either that or the contract wasn't guaranteed, as someone above mentioned. My thought for why the contract was guaranteed is just that the Monday Night War resulted in guaranteed contracts becoming a thing for the WWF as a way to somewhat compete with WCW, who were offering guarantees and lesser schedules.

I think Vince was basically like, "Do me a favor and go to WCW for more money annually or I'll fight you on this in court because I can't pay it." Since they had a good relationship, Bret was OK leaving amicably and just taking the higher annual amount. Plus, the time value of money likely worked in Bret's favor where he wasn't actually losing out. As stated above, his contract went down in pay and he was to become an ambassador.

 

[My Spot]

Rumor and innuendo have always suggested that Bret had an offer for $2.8 mil a year from WCW in the summer of 96. Bischoff said there was nothing on the table on his podcast (83 Weeks episode about Bret in WCW) but who knows if that's true or not. His contract he did sign in the fall of 97 was 5 years for 2.5 mil a year (you can verify this courtesy of the Sonny Onoo lawsuit in 2000).
Bret was also looking at WCW in early 92 before he lost the IC title to the Mountie.

 

[My Spot]

Vince wasn't in the business of guaranteed contracts, so I'm sure he had an opt out clause in there.

I don't really know how it all went down though.

He had to start giving out guaranteed downsides in 96 because of WCW. It was either Mero or Pillman who got the first one. That summer, Mark Henry got his infamous 10 year, $250k a year contract. Imagine being Austin or Foley at the time who came in on the old 10/$150 deals.

 

[Darth Nevets]

On the big point talent contracts bind them to the contractor and are only enforceable one way. Vince can void any contract he wants at any time, and just try and get monies still owed to you in the future if he does. On TV they always sign actors to seven year deals, the max legal, so they can escape paying for all but the biggest hits.

His contract was a bit bigger than the WCW deal, which was real for chrissakes, inflated with twenty years worth of work as a sign of loyalty (it ensured he could never work for WCW as many of his stars were doing). In reality he took a 50% pay cut to stay with Vince.

The reason Vince wanted Bret out is that Shawn was throwing a pissy fit and wanted the top spot and money. Vince paid Tyson more than Bet's entire contract for a few hours of work. Also Meltzer never reported that number.

Kev gets a lot of guff for WCW's downfall, but if Michaels never got hurt then the WWF would have lost and gone out of business sooner.

 

[My Spot]

Also Meltzer never reported that number.

The money Tyson got for WM14? It's always been $3 million.

 

[deezy]

And to think Bret Hart could've taken over Patt Pattersons role of designing finishes.

Instead his brother died and he broke his head.

And people wonder why he's perceived as bitter.

 

[Darth Nevets]

The money Tyson got for WM14? It's always been $3 million.

That was very poorly worded on my front. That quote referred to the op that stated Bret would get 1.5 million for twenty years, something that Meltz never reported. I believe it was 1.5 for three years, or however long he wrestled, and the rest was a base salary that, if carried out to 2016, may have netted him a few dollars more than the WCW offer.

 

[GSPSAKU]

Bret was definitely offered a contract from WCW. To say otherwise is just ridiculous Here it is from Bischoff just when AOL and Prodigy chats were getting big in the late 90s. This was from April of 1997.


"Moderator (Speaker) Eric Bischoff, VP of WCW, is now currently with us answering your questions. If you haven't done so yet, please send in your questions.

SunnyDaysMJD (Prodigy Member) Hey Eric... Did you purposefully bid up Bret Hart's contract, causing the WWF to offer him an insane amount of money, in hopes that that would result in other workers getting upset and leaving?

Eric Bischoff (Speaker) No, not at all. I offered Bret a deal that I felt I could make work financially for both him and my company."

So in April of 1997, Biscoff admits to meeting with Bret and offering Bret a deal.

In May of 2018, Bischoff denies offering Bret a deal but doesn't deny meeting with Bret so they could just talk about their mutual interests in westerns and cowboys...yes, Bischoff flew Bret out in 1996 to talk about cowboys and never even offered him a deal?

So the way I understand Bret's departure is...

Bret gets an offer from WCW, but Vince wants him to stay so he offers him a crazy 20-year contract that doesn't pay as much money per year, but obviously is worth more money than WCW's 3-year offer. Bret decides to stay with WWF and signs the contract. Shortly after, Vince gets buyer's remorse and realizes he either can't or doesn't want to pay out that much money to Bret, and asks to restructure the contract, to which Bret refuses. Vince then tells him that he should contact WCW to see if their offer is still on the table, Bret does and jumps ship.

But I've never heard of how Vince got out of the contract. Did he buy Bret out? Did he have some kind of escape clause in it? I heard Dave Meltzer say that Bret's WWF contract was like 1.5 million for 20 years... if that's true, why would Bret choose to get out of that contract? Bret was 40 when he signed it, so even if WCW was paying double that per year, he had to know he was at the tail end of his career so that gauranteed 1.5 a year until he was 60 must have sounded a lot better.

I'm not a lawyer, but I didn't think you could just sign a contract with a guy and a few months later say "oh wait never mind, I don't want to give you that money".

I'll answer your question as best I can.

Bret got an offer from WCW in 1996 that was in the neighborhood of $3mil/year for 3 years. That's why Vince gave Bret the 20 year contract and less than a year in, he says he can no longer afford the contract. He begs Bret to go to WCW to see if the 3mil year deal is still on the table. Sure enough, it was but it a $2.5mil/year downside guarantee to be exact. In the 20 year contract, it stated that in Bret's last 30 days with the company, he would have reasonable creative control, which meant both parties (Bret and WWF) would have to agree on all things related to the Hitman character.

As far as Bret's WWF contract that he singed in 1996, it was not $1.5mil/year for 20 years and Meltzer did not report that. He did report, correctly, that it was $1.5mil/year for 3 years and Bret would retire at the end of 1999 and then go on to serve as a senior advisor role ala Pat Patterson/Jerry Brisco for $500K/year for 7 years and then $250K/year for 10 years as an ambassdor/company standby.

Guys like JR, Pat Patterson, Sgt Slaughter and Jerry Brisco all have stated their piece on the Montreal Screwjob and they all have their own perspectives of what was the right or wrong thing to do but what they all agreed on was that Bret had a 20 year contract and Vince had to go back to Bret and beg him to let the WWF off the hook because the WWF was floundering and they couldn't honor the contract. Now whether the WWF and Vince could or couln't honor the contract, financially, that's another question itselt. Vince actually asked Bret twice between April 1997-August 1997 to renegotiate and take less money as an active wrestler and get more on the back end. That's when Vince told Bret he should go ask WCW for the deal and maybe Bret could come back after his deal was up with WCW. Since Bret was a contracted WWF wrestler, Bischoff said he couldn't talk to Bret about contract negotiations unless Bret faxed him a letter from the WWF saying Bret was allowed to talk to interested parties in regards to wrestling. Jerry McDevvit faxed the release to Bischoff himself and that's how talks begin. But anyhow, there it is as best and as close to the truth as possible taking in all the various perspectives, angles, and interviews over the past 21 years.

PS, as far as money goes, Bret actually made $2,694,857 for 1998, $2,600,164 for 1999 and $1,415,107 for 2000 for a total of $6,754,074.

 

[gspieler]

Bret gets offered huge payday from Bischoff.
Vince offers Bret less, but garunteed, for 20 years, and a creative control clause written it.
Bret agrees to Vince's contract out of loyalty to the company.
Vince renegs on his contract a few months into the deal, and tells Brett he can negotiate with Bischoff.
Brett negotiates a contract with Bischoff for less than what the original offer was.
Vince puts the belt on Bret.
Vince tells Brett to drop the strap to Shawn, on Bret's last day.
Bret says he won't job to Shawn in Canada, but will drop to anyone else, exercising his creative control.
Vince agrees Bret doesn't have to drop to Shawn at SS.
Vince swerves Bret by staging it so Shawn goes over on Bret, without Bret's knowledge.
Everyone says "Bret screwed Bret".

 

[GSPSAKU]

Bret gets offered huge payday from Bischoff.
Vince offers Bret less, but garunteed, for 20 years, and a creative control clause written it.
Bret agrees to Vince's contract out of loyalty to the company.
Vince renegs on his contract a few months into the deal, and tells Brett he can negotiate with Bischoff.
Brett negotiates a contract with Bischoff for less than what the original offer was.
Vince puts the belt on Bret.
Vince tells Brett to drop the strap to Shawn, on Bret's last day.
Bret says he won't job to Shawn in Canada, but will drop to anyone else, exercising his creative control.
Vince agrees Bret doesn't have to drop to Shawn at SS.
Vince swerves Bret by staging it so Shawn goes over on Bret, without Bret's knowledge.
Everyone says "Bret screwed Bret".

For some reason, I read your reply and heard it as the old "Bunny Short" videos from Starz lol. I think the last line cemenyrd it. I doubt many know what I'm talking about but this is one of the many classic Bunny Shorts.

 

[Frank23]

So the way I understand Bret's departure is...

Bret gets an offer from WCW, but Vince wants him to stay so he offers him a crazy 20-year contract that doesn't pay as much money per year, but obviously is worth more money than WCW's 3-year offer. Bret decides to stay with WWF and signs the contract. Shortly after, Vince gets buyer's remorse and realizes he either can't or doesn't want to pay out that much money to Bret, and asks to restructure the contract, to which Bret refuses. Vince then tells him that he should contact WCW to see if their offer is still on the table, Bret does and jumps ship.

But I've never heard of how Vince got out of the contract. Did he buy Bret out? Did he have some kind of escape clause in it? I heard Dave Meltzer say that Bret's WWF contract was like 1.5 million for 20 years... if that's true, why would Bret choose to get out of that contract? Bret was 40 when he signed it, so even if WCW was paying double that per year, he had to know he was at the tail end of his career so that gauranteed 1.5 a year until he was 60 must have sounded a lot better.

I'm not a lawyer, but I didn't think you could just sign a contract with a guy and a few months later say "oh wait never mind, I don't want to give you that money".

Listen to this:

 

[GSPSAKU]

Listen to this:

Bischoff is a proven liar especially in this case. He states that he never offered Bret Hart a deal in 1996. According to Bischoff, he just flew Bret Hart out to meet with him just to get a feel of who he was. And that they talked talked about their love of cowboys and that was pretty much it.

First off, why would Bischoff fly Bret out just to chat? A phone call would have been suffice.

Secondly, if an offer hadn’t been made, why would everyone except Bischoff agree an offer had been made?

Thirdly, in April of 1997 in a Prodigy chat that I’ve included above, Bischoff states that he did give Bret a real offer but Bret decided to take the WWF instead. This was 6 months before Bret would sign with WCW in ‘97

 

[Frank23]

Bischoff is a proven liar especially in this case. He states that he never offered Bret Hart a deal in 1996. According to Bischoff, he just flew Bret Hart out to meet with him just to get a feel of who he was. And that they talked talked about their love of cowboys and that was pretty much it.

First off, why would Bischoff fly Bret out just to chat? A phone call would have been suffice.

Secondly, if an offer hadn’t been made, why would everyone except Bischoff agree an offer had been made?

Thirdly, in April of 1997 in a Prodigy chat that I’ve included above, Bischoff states that he did give Bret a real offer but Bret decided to take the WWF instead. This was 6 months before Bret would sign with WCW in ‘97

 

[GSPSAKU]

Bret is as bitter as they come and his opinions of wrestlers and wrestling personalities are much like that of anyone else, just his own personal opinions. But when it comes to factual history, what happened and when it happened, I’ll take a meticulous Bret Hart over someone like Bischoff who has admitted to having a bad memory. Bret wrote things down and remembers events to the exact date.

Just like the entire Montreal thing, everything Bret said and how he said they happened have stood the test of time. His story is the only story that remains unchanged and hasn’t cracked. Michael’s has, Vince’s claim that he couldn’t afford to have Bret show up in WCW with the belt like Alundra Blaise has been proven that it was never going to happen and couldn’t happen. Vince’s claim that Bret wouldn’t lose in Canada and wanted to leave as champ wound up being a lie as both Jim Ross and Shawn Michaels admitted that Bret openly stated he would lose to Shawn if Shawn would put him over first. JR also stated it was true and he was in on those discussion where Bret offered to lose clean to ‘Taker, Shamrock, Austin and others instead of Michaels.

While Bret’s bitterness has really turned off many many fans and his opinions of other wrestling personalities can be piss poor, his recollection of events and how they happened are good as gold.

 

[IGotAHugePeckah]

Yeah it's kind of sad to see how bitter Bret is. Being Canadian, he was my absolute favourite growing up, and he's still bitter over stuff that happened 20-30 years ago, while it seems like most people have moved on with their lives.

Bischoff is kind of dicey, I'm not sure if he lies a lot but it doesn't seem like he has a great memory. In every interview he does it seems like he admits he has a bad memory and says "I don't really remember that" at some point.