Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel received over $19 million in salary and bonuses for 2022 after getting a $308 million payout in 2021 when the company went public.
Endeavor CEO and UFC owner Ari Emanuel earned just over $19 million in salary and bonuses for 2022, following a massive $308 million payout in 2021 when the company went public for the first time. The salary figures were disclosed in a yearly financial filing by Endeavor Group Holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Emanuel’s 2022 earnings included a $4 million flat salary, $8.2 million in bonuses, $6 million in non-equity incentive compensation, and $868,011 in “other compensation.” The 2021 payout resulted from a one-time stock grant tied to the company’s initial public offering.
Endeavor CFO Jason Lublin earned $18.5 million in 2022, while president and COO Mark Shapiro garnered $18.7 million and executive chairman Patrick Whitesell received $12.1 million. Whitesell, like Emanuel, earned a significant sum totaling $123.1 million after the company first went public in the previous year. Endeavor highlighted record revenues from its sports properties segment, led by the UFC, in a year-end package sent to investors. The segment’s revenue reached $1.3 billion in 2022, a $224.1 million increase from the previous year.
The UFC sold out 21 events during 2022, boasting “the best sponsorship year ever” in the promotion’s history. It is anticipated that the UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which Endeavor recently acquired, will soon operate under the umbrella of a new, yet-to-be-named company. Expected to go public with its own stock offering this year, this new company will house both the UFC and WWE brands. “This is a rare opportunity to create a world-class organization with global scale built for where sports and entertainment are headed,” Emanuel said in a statement, adding that Endeavor would maintain majority ownership in the new company after the transaction closes in the second half of 2023.
In the new UFC-WWE merged brand, Emanuel will serve as CEO, with Dana White overseeing UFC business and Vince McMahon running WWE operations. Endeavor will reveal its first-quarter 2023 results on May 9, followed by the annual shareholders meeting on June 13.