How Much Does Joe Rogan Earn Per UFC Event? Salary, Income and Other Business Sources

The famed UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan, was a famous face even before his UFC career. After a few odd jobs, Rogan ventured into the field of comedy and gained massive popularity from it. He is also one of the few current UFC contractors who has been in the pre-Zuffa era of the UFC as well. But after Zuffa’s takeover, the 57-year-old went through a major change of roles in the UFC.

Earlier, he used to serve as the backstage interviewer of the promotion. But the UFC president, Dana White, took him out of that position and fixed him as the UFC’s PPV color commentator. Further, he also allocated Rogan the coveted duty of conducting post-fight Octagon interviews with fighters. Today, Rogan has become a significant part of UFC PPVs. Most fans would agree that he enhances the fight-viewing experience remarkably with his value-added commentary. But, some of them might also be wondering about the remunerations that Rogan receives from the UFC for his enriched contribution.

What is Joe Rogan’s salary in the UFC?

Most fans may be aware of the fact that the UFC head honcho, Dana White, earns an insane estimated amount of $20 million per year as his UFC salary. Hence, looking at the value Rogan adds to UFC PPVs, it may be said that the UFC provides him with heavy remunerations for his services.

But Dana White, himself revealed that Rogan didn’t earn a specific yearly salary from the UFC like himself. At the UFC on ESPN 18 press conference, he stated, “Well, what we do is we have, you know, like Joe Rogan is contracted to do pay-per-view events. He doesn’t do all the events”.

Instead, the UFC pays him a certain amount for every PPV on which he takes to the mic. Several noted MMA coverage houses have also reported that Rogan currently earns an amount of $50,000 for every PPV he commentates in.

Also, statistics say that the UFC has held 13 PPVs in the years 2018 and 2021, which stands as the highest number of PPVs organized in the last five years. Hence, it may be safely said that Rogan’s yearly income from the UFC didn’t touch the figure of $1M.

Having been in the UFC for many years, some would wonder if Joe Rogan has some kind of investment in the promotion. But does he? Let’s find out.

Does Joe Rogan own a stake in the UFC?

To put it in simple terms, no, Joe Rogan is not part of the UFC ownership. Previously, the UFC was under the ownership of Zuffa LLC, which was led by the Fertitta brothers – Lorenzo and Frank. They purchased the then-controversial fight promotion in 2001, for a sum of $2 million. It sounds cheap, given how big of an organization it has turned out to be. As the stock of Dana White’s promotion among fans skyrocketed, the Fertitta brothers would sell the UFC for a staggering $4 billion in 2016 to WME-IMG.

Then again, the highest happening in sports and sports entertainment took place when, in 2023, professional wrestling giants WWE and the UFC joined forces. The two promotions became one, but not in the literal sense, as they would get bought by TKO Group Holdings to come under the owner of an umbrella organization. But what about Joe Rogan? The man is a multi-millionaire, but his earnings aren’t just limited to his UFC role.

Joe Rogan’s net worth and other income sources

Despite earning a healthy amount from the UFC, the 57-year-old couldn’t have amassed his massive net worth of an estimated $200M if he solely relied on UFC PPV commentary. Currently, Rogan’s coveted podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, stands as his primary source of income. ‘JRE’ is also sponsored by a plethora of companies, which also make up a significant part of his income.

Further, Rogan also pocketed a whopping $5M for his ‘Netflix’ special, ‘Strange Times’. Well, looking at so many sources of income, UFC fans probably will have no doubts left in their mind about how Rogan amassed such a lucrative net worth. Do you expect Joe Rogan to become a billionaire in his lifetime?

Meanwhile, Joe Rogan will be back for his commentary duties this weekend at UFC 310. With the main event and the co-main event looking like it will deliver, it remains to be seen if the 57-year-old makes for some memorable reactions like he most often does.