Sheamus’ WWE exit may reveal TKO’s approach to veteran talent

Sheamus is leaving WWE, according to reports, after nearly 20 years with the company. | (Photo: Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images) The announcement that Sheamus will leave WWE when his contract expires, after reportedly rejecting an offer to restructure his deal, surprised many fans. But considering that Sheamus is 48 and has spent significant time sidelined by injuries in recent years, his situation is no different from that of athletes in other professional sports, according to wrestling writer Dave Meltzer. “When it’s older wrestlers who they perceive as being on their downside and have big contracts, they’re very much like a NFL team that will go, rather than pay a guy a giant salary who’s on the downside, we would rather spend our resources on somebody younger, who also we can pay less to,” Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer noted that from the people he spoke with, TKO, WWE’s parent company, is “willing to pay really, really, really giant money to people who the