Hulkster Will Get Tons of Pennies on the Dollar

Terry Bollea made it clear during trial that Hulk Hogan is merely a character he portrays. Don’t be confused by the do-rag both wear incessantly. A sympathetic Florida jury awarded Bollea $60 million in emotional damages and $55 million in economic damages against Gawker who had published without permission or any source confirmation a one minute excerpt of Bollea fucking his friend’s wife on hidden camera. Gawker cynically fell back on their First Amendment journalism rights but everybody googled Federalist Papers and Hulk Hogan Sex Tape and found no results. When the dude from Gawker made a joke under sworn testimony about publishing sex tapes of any girl who was at least four years old, the verdict was sealed. You can spend the next hundred and fifteen million dollars trying to figure out that remark in the midst of being sued. Punitive damages are still pending.

According to people who like to ruin a good headline, Bollea will be lucky to see some small fraction of his jury award. Forty-percent will go to his attorneys. The tax man will take a solid chunk of the remainder as the jury award is considered income. The defendants will appeal the verdict which could string this out several years, which for a dude in his fourth decade of steroids is not an optimal timeline. More likely, the parties settle on a smaller number to cut a check immediately. Either way, not a bad pay for fucking Bubba the Love Sponge’s wife. He booked the gig for free.

Photo credit: Livestream/Bollea-Gawker Trial