27. Schools rented their gladiators out for individual fights – and this would turn into a sale if the fighter was killed
Gladiator schools were owned by wealthy men, called lanistas. They would rent their gladiators out for individual events. Of course, the price varied. Untested novices were the cheapest, while veterans who were loved by the public could fetch huge sums. According to the sources from the time, if a lanista’s gladiator was killed in the arena, the rental contract would be automatically upgraded to a sale agreement – and this could be 50 the cost of the daily rental rate!