After earning $308 million in 2021 when Endeavor went public, UFC owner and CEO Ari Emanuel received just over $19 million in salary and bonuses in 2022.
The pay information was disclosed by Endeavor Group Holdings as part of a yearly financial record that the company is required to make with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to the report, Emanuel earned a flat salary of $4 million in 2022 in addition to an additional $8.2 million paid in bonuses, $6 million in non-equity incentive rewards, and $868,011 in “other compensation.” The exorbitant sum that was paid out in 2021 was due to a one-time stock grant that was connected to the initial public offering of the corporation.
In 2022, the Chief Financial Officer of Endeavor, Jason Lublin, made $18.5 million, while the President and Chief Operating Officer of Endeavor, Mark Shapiro, received $18.7 million, and the Executive Chairman of Endeavor, Patrick Whitesell, earned $12.1 million. Whitesell, like Emanuel in 2021, made a colossal sum after the company went public for the first time the year before.
Endeavor highlighted the record revenues earned by the company’s sports properties sector, which is led by the UFC, as part of the company’s year-end package that was issued to investors.
The total revenue that was claimed to have been earned by Endeavor’s sports properties in 2022 amounted to $1.3 billion, representing a 224.1-million-dollar increase from the previous year.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held 21 events in 2022 and boasted that it was “the best sponsorship year ever” in the history of the promotion.
It is anticipated that the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will soon begin operating under a new business label alongside World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which Endeavor just recently acquired. It is anticipated that the new business, which does not yet have an official name, will launch its own public stock offering by the latter half of this year.
“Just this past month, we announced yet another transformational milestone — an agreement to form a new, pure play publicly listed company that will house two iconic sports and entertainment brands — UFC and WWE — under one roof,” Emanuel touted in a statement. “This is a rare opportunity to create a world class organization with global scale built for where sports and entertainment are headed.
“Following the expected transaction close in the second half of 2023, Endeavor will be strongly positioned to participate in the anticipated upside of the new company through a majority ownership.”
Emanuel will serve as CEO of the combined UFC and WWE brands, with Dana White overseeing UFC operations and Vince McMahon in control of WWE.
The next significant piece of information regarding Endeavor’s financial situation will be made public on May 9, 2023, when the firm reports its results for the first quarter of 2023. The annual shareholders meeting is planned to take place on June 13, 2023.