Clarification On How Much AEW Offered Powerhouse Hobbs To Re-Sign

Prior to his debut in the 2026 men’s Royal Rumble under the new ring name of Royce Keys, it was reported last week that AEW had offered the former Powerhouse Hobbs a substantial amount of money to remain with the company in the approach to the expiration of his deal, though he ultimately selected WWE’s offer and signed with them instead, with his heart reportedly set on the switch for some time. 

In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last week, Dave Meltzer compared Hobbs’ offered number to what the likes of Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn were earning in WWE four or so years ago, more than anyone else was making in AEW back in 2019 aside from Chris Jericho, and also compared it to the number that Bryan Danielson was offered by AEW to sign in 2021. However, Meltzer has issued some clarification on these comments in this week’s Observer, now noting that it wasn’t close to the Danielson sum. 

It is said that it was still a “very strong” five-year deal offered out by AEW, though it wouldn’t have been within the top ten current contract offers in the company right now.