HULK HOGAN was awarded $115 million from Gawker for posting his sex tape.  His lawyers issued a statement saying the verdict is, quote, “a statement as to the public’s disgust with the invasion of privacy disguised as journalism.”

But those were just compensatory damages.  This week, the jury will award punitive damages.  TMZ says they could total up to three times the compensatory, which would be $345 million.  That would give Hogan almost HALF A BILLION DOLLARS.

This doesn’t mean that Hulk will have hundreds of millions of dollars in his bank account any time soon . . . if at all.  Gawker is going to appeal, so this will take time.  And a higher court might reduce the damages.

There are also legal fees, court costs, and taxes to consider.  Still, Hogan will probably walk away with a serious chunk of change, even if it takes years for this thing to be resolved.  It would probably be smarter for all parties involved to settle.

(Here’s video of Hogan celebrating with his legal team after the verdict.)

http://www.tmz.com/videos/0_1sy94i43