Money in the Bank is an annual gimmick pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event produced by WWE since 2010, generally held between May and July. The concept of the show comes from WWE's established Money in the Bank ladder match, in which multiple wrestlers use ladders to retrieve a briefcase hanging above the ring. The briefcase contains a contract that guarantees the winner a match for a world championship of their choosing at any time within the next year. The 2021 event featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands; male wrestlers competed for a contract to grant them a match for either Raw's WWE Championship or SmackDown's Universal Championship, while female wrestlers competed for a Raw Women's Championship or SmackDown Women's Championship match contract. While the previous year's event had featured a "Corporate Ladder" gimmick, which took place at WWE's Titan Towers headquarters and had only six competitors in each match due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 event reverted to the standard version of the titular ladder match as well as returning to having eight competitors for both matches, evenly divided between the two brands. It was the 12th event in the Money in the Bank chronology and the first to be held in July since the 2013 event.