Ari Emanuel earned a $65 million pay package in 2023 as CEO of TKO Group

Ari Emanuel, in his capacity as CEO of TKO Group Holdings – the parent company of UFC and WWE – had a compensation package of almost $65 million last year.

TKO awarded Emanuel, who is also CEO of Endeavor, a base salary of $911,538, plus a cash bonus of $24 million and stock awards worth $40 million through 2023, per year. regulatory filing by TKO. All told, the executive’s pay package was $64.91 million.

TKO previously announced that Emanuel received equity grants worth $40 million, which vested over four years, in conjunction with the completion of the UFC-WWE merger in September 2023 (which is majority owned by Endeavor ).

Among other TKO execs, WWE President Nick Khan had a 2023 compensation package worth $32 million. That included a salary of $515,385, a bonus of $15 million, stock grants worth $12.1 million and a cash incentive compensation of $4.5 million. Vince McMahon, the former CEO of WWE who resigned from TKO’s board earlier this year following a lawsuit accusing him of sex trafficking, earned a salary of $369,231 last year. McMahon owns about 8 million shares of TKO Group, having made about $1.5 billion through the sale of TKO stock since last fall.

TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro (who also holds the same roles at Endeavor) had a pay package worth $16.1 million, including a $9 million bonus and $6.25 million in stock awards. CFO Andrew Schleimer (formerly CFO of UFC) received compensation of $8.77 million, including a $5 million bonus and $3.2 million in stock awards.

Earlier this month, Endeavor announced a deal to go private with private equity firm Silver Lake, giving the company a stock value of $13 billion. That deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. (TKO Group is not part of the Endeavor-Silver Lake transaction and remains a publicly traded company.)

Endeavor, which owns WME, among others, has not disclosed how much Emanuel would earn as CEO in 2023. His 2022 compensation package at Endeavor was worth $19.1 million, up from a whopping $308 million the year before, which consisted mainly of stock grants awarded over several years. and were dependent on the company’s stock price reaching certain milestones.

When Endeavor’s private deal closes, Emanuel will be entitled to quarterly royalty payments from WME worth 2.5% of quarterly net cash profits. Emanuel will receive new equity awards in Endeavor, representing an initial award of 2.5% of the equity interests and an additional award of 0.5% of the equity interests, calculated on a fully diluted basis. One-third of the initial grant will consist of options and two-thirds of restricted stock units, subject to vesting conditions. Emanuel will receive a $25 million “transaction bonus” in the event of a sale of Endeavor’s assets.

Beginning on the second anniversary of the closing of Silver Lake’s deal to buy Endeavor, Emanuel will have a one-time right to require the company to repurchase all or a portion of his equity interests. Under his agreement with Endeavor, Shapiro “will have reasonable access to the Company’s private aircraft (if available) and when not using such private aircraft, he will be reimbursed for travel in first class or charter flights.”