How much money did Steve Austin make from Austin 3:16 t-shirts? Insane amount revealed by WWE legend

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin remains one of the most popular WWE Superstars to this day. The Texas Rattlesnake’s popularity can be gauged from the insane merchandise numbers he was able to pull off in just one year.

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle recently dropped a startling revelation about the iconic Austin 3: 16 t-shirts on his podcast. The Olympic Gold Medalist said Austin made an insane amount from the merchandise cut for the Austin 3:16 t-shirts.

“In one year, he made $12 million on merchandise, and that was the 3:16 shirt. That’s when it came out. $12 million. He told me. I was like, ‘Holy c**p.’ He only made two and a half million wrestling,” Kurt Angle said.

The 55-year-old star further stated that he made more money wrestling that Steve Austin, but his merchandise sales didn’t come close to the figure the Rattlesnake was pulling out in a single calendar year.

“Vince McMahon said, ‘I pay you (Angle) to wrestle.’ Vince, I’m not gonna lie to you, he paid me well. I made more than Austin did with wrestling. I didn’t make nearly as much as Austin did with merchandise, but Vince took care of me on the back end with wrestling.”

“Merchandise, I made, I’ll give you just roundabout figures, between 700 and 900 grand a year. It wasn’t a lot. It’s a lot of money, don’t get me wrong, but not for being a big star like that. For some reason Vince just told me, ‘Hey, can’t do anything with you in merchandise, so just wrestle.’ I would come up with merchandise ideas and Vince would utilize them, but you know, I didn’t sell like Stone Cold, and I was a heel most of my career too.” (H/T WrestleNews.co)

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When was Steve Austin’s last WWE match?

Steve Austin retired from active in-ring competition in 2003. The superstar put over longtime rival and real-life friend The Rock in their match at WrestleMania 19. Austin became an on-screen authority figure and continued in that position until November 2003.

The former WWE champion made his epic return to wrestling at WrestleMania 38, when he took on Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred match. Austin defeated KO after a great back-and-forth match. He also showed up the next night to deliver a stunner to Vince McMahon, Austin Theory, and Pat McAfee.

WWE had reportedly approached the Hall of Famer for a match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 39, but he refused. It remains to be seen if the Steve Austin will show up at a WWE event in 2024.