AEW Contracts Reportedly Don't Have Non-Compete Clauses, CM Punk Could Be Exception

Since the news broke in early January that the Federal Trade Commission was looking to possibly end non-compete clauses and provisions, speculation has run rampant about what this could mean for the future of professional wrestling. The anticipation of where a wrestler freshly released from WWE would appear 90 days later was practically a staple of 2021.

The AEW end of things is murkier, but a recent Fightful Select report sheds some light on the company's stance on non-compete clauses as well as one notable exception. It appears no AEW stars under contract have a non-compete attached to their contracts. One of the primary reasons behind the lack of non-competes appears to be their nature as an extension if talent is released from their contracts. Generally speaking, AEW doesn't release talents outside of special requests and disciplinary actions.

There is, however, one very notable exception to this policy. Many talents backstage seem to believe that CM Punk does have a non-compete attached to his contract. Should CM Punk be released from his AEW contract early, may believe he would need to meet the condition of not competing for WWE for a set period of time. Punk's status with AEW remains unclear, but it was reported in December that he remains under contract for the time being. Moreover, there's been no new reports on a potential buyout of the remainder of Punk's AEW contract. Punk has not been seen or mentioned on AEW television since the backstage altercation at All Out in September.