TKO Group Holdings CEO Ari Emanuel`s total compensation saw a significant decrease in 2024, though he still earned a substantial $18.1 million for the year.
TKO, the parent company overseeing both UFC and WWE, recently disclosed details about key executive salaries in a filing with the SEC. This filing provided insights into the compensation packages for individuals including Emanuel and TKO President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro.
Emanuel`s overall pay package for 2024, which included a base salary of $3 million plus various bonuses, totaled $18.1 million. This marked a considerable drop from the $64.9 million he received in 2023. The difference primarily stemmed from larger stock awards and bonuses tied to specific transactions in 2023, notably a $20 million bonus directly from the UFC.
For 2024 specifically, Emanuel`s earnings consisted of his base salary, slightly over $8.2 million in an annual performance bonus, $4.29 million from a discretionary bonus, and an annual equity award valued at $2.5 million.
Despite the lower figure in 2024, Emanuel has benefited from massive payouts related to other corporate activities. These include $173.8 million received when Endeavor (the talent agency turned conglomerate and TKO`s largest single shareholder) went private again. He also earned $308 million in 2021, largely in stock awards, for his role in taking Endeavor public initially.
In contrast to Emanuel, TKO President Mark Shapiro`s compensation nearly doubled between 2023 and 2024.
Shapiro`s pay increased from $16.1 million in 2023 to $32 million in 2024. The primary driver for this substantial increase was stock awards valued at over $19 million, added to his $4 million annual salary and $8.2 million in bonuses not related to stock.
Another notable detail from the filing is that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a member of the TKO board of directors, received over $29 million in stock awards in 2024.
