Does ESPN believe they were sold a false bill of goods in relation to their current deal with WWE?

Earlier this year, ESPN signed a five-year deal with WWE worth over $1.6 billion to stream the company’s premium live events on its ESPN+ app. The deal was initially set to kick off in 2026, but started early with the debut of Wrestlepalooza in September.

But is WWE giving ESPN the return on investment they were hoping for?

On the latest episode of the Wrestling with Freddie Podcast, former WWE creative team member Freddie Prinze Jr. reveals that, based on someone he’s spoken with at Disney, ESPN is very unhappy with their current WWE deal.

“ESPN, by the way, so unhappy with the deal,” Freddie Prinze Jr. said. “I was talking to a friend of mine who works for Disney, and he was just like, ‘Yo, they better make their money back on this deal.’ He just said, ‘They’re hot.’” [H/T: Fightful]

WWE, on the other hand…

ESPN might be unhappy with its current WWE deal, but the feeling doesn’t seem to be mutual.

Last month, during the TKO Q3 earnings call, WWE President Nick Khan expressed how thrilled the company is with the new ESPN deal.

“By the way, we’re thrilled with the start of it,” Nick Khan said. “So it’s obviously a new product, it’s a new platform. If you notice any of the promotion going into our first event with them, Wrestlepalooza, which is a new event for us, which we’re really pleased with.

“You saw wall-to-wall coverage on all ESPN platforms. So much so that on College Game Day, the morning of Wrestlepalooza, you had the entire panel. Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Rece Davis all predicting the winner of Brock Lesnar versus John Cena. It was phenomenal.

“It’s going to take time for ESPN to grow that platform the way that they want to grow it,” he added. “We’re patient. We’ll continue to put on our product the way that we think only we can do. Let’s see where we end up.”

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What do you make of Freddie Prinze Jr.’s comments? Can you understand ESPN’s current unhappiness as it relates to their current deal with WWE? Let us know your overall thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.