Ari Emanuel, executive chair and CEO of UFC and WWE parent TKO Group saw 2025 compensation of $67.4 million, up sharply from $18.1 million the year before on a large stock grant.
The breakdown, according to the company’s proxy statement filed with the SEC today, is $3 million in salary; a cash bonus of about $11.9 million; stock awards valued at $43.9 million; and $8.1 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation (also cash). Emanuel’s “other” compensation included $365k for personal use of an aircraft provided to him.
TKO President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro, saw total comp rise to $42.6 million from $31.9 million. He had a $4 million base salary; a $12.5 million cash bonus; and stock awards valued at $25.8 million.
CFO Andrew Schleimer’s package of $23.1 million ($2 million base salary; $7 million bonus; stock award valued at $14.1 million) was up from $7.7 million in 2024.
The proxy noted rising revenue and strong momentum at UFC and TKO, which inked a series of key rights deals last year including with Paramount and ESPN. The filing details the annual pay of a public company’s top five highest paid executive officers in a compensation table published each year.
The filing also lays out how directors are compensated. Nick Khan, president of WWE, is on the board of TKO. His 2025 package — for his executive role at WWE — totaled $24.28 million with a $2 million base salary, stock awards valued at $11.5 million and bonus payments of $10.75 million.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, movie and TV star and former professional wrestler, is a director. He received a $30 million award of restricted stock units, which is fully vested and exercisable. He also saw $900k in royalties from a licensing agreement with TKO, and was reimbursed for $600k of travel expenses related to the deal.