Following the merger of UFC and WWE to form TKO Group Holdings, top executives received substantial compensation packages, with CEO Ari Emanuel earning nearly $65 million in 2023, including a $24 million bonus and over $40 million in stock awards.
Well, well, well. The rich just keep getting richer, don’t they? That’s what happened when UFC and WWE decided to join forces. They formed TKO Group Holdings last September, and boy, did the execs cash in.
A new financial disclosure was filed with the SEC. It’s all in preparation for the annual stockholders meeting in June. And guess what? The top dogs at TKO had their compensation packages revealed for the fiscal year 2023.
CEO Ari Emanuel? He pocketed nearly $65 million. Yes, you read that right. His package included a salary of $911,538. That was prorated based on the merger date — Sept. 12, 2023 — to the end of the fiscal year. And there’s more. He also got a $24 million bonus and $40,000,094 in stock awards.
But wait, there’s more. Emanuel also bagged a $20 million transaction bonus from UFC alone. And get this, it “was not tied to achievement of any specified performance measure and, as such, is not included herein.” Talk about a sweet deal, huh?
Then there’s Mark Shapiro, the TKO president and chief operating officer. He took home a package valued at more than $16 million. That included a $9 million bonus and more than $6 million in stock awards.
Andrew Schleimer, the chief financial officer, wasn’t left out. He earned more than $8.7 million, with a $5 million bonus and more than $3.1 million in stock awards.
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Nick Khan, WWE president and TKO board member, also had a good year. He took home more than $32 million in total compensation. That included a $15 million bonus and more than $12 million in stock awards.
The deal to merge UFC and WWE under the new label at TKO was valued at more than $21 billion. In 2023, UFC had record revenue of $1.3 billion. That was driven by media rights and increases in sponsorships and live events. They had 20 sold-out shows and seven of those were among the 20 highest grossing UFC events of all time.
TKO is a publicly traded company. So, executive compensation packages like these are made available for stockholders and through required SEC filings. The primary TKO owner is Endeavor. They’re a talent agency that also operates other major businesses like On Location and Professional Bull Riders. They own a 51 percent stake in the company.
Endeavor was recently taken private again. Silver Lake purchased the rest of the remaining stock available for the company in a deal valued at $13 billion. Endeavor no longer has to provide financial disclosures as a private company. But TKO? They’re still required to do so as a publicly traded entity.
TKO seems set for another big year in 2024. WWE inked a pair of massive broadcast deals. That includes a five-year, $10 billion contract to move its flagship Monday Night Raw program to Netflix starting in 2025. UFC also begins negotiations soon on a new TV rights deal. The current contract with ESPN expires after 2025.