Ari Emanuel, the chief executive officer at the UFC’s parent company TKO Group Holdings, saw a sizable increase in his salary from 2024 to 2025.
In a new filing with the SEC to prepare for the annual shareholders’ meeting, Emanuel’s pay for 2025 was revealed alongside that of other key executives at TKO Group Holdings. In 2024, Emanuel took home just over $18 million, which was a dramatic drop from 2023 when he earned $64.9 million based on total compensation, including salary, bonuses, and stock.
Emanuel rebounded in a big way for 2025, earning just over $67 million, which includes a $3 million base salary, over $11 million in bonuses, $43.8 million in stock awards, with additional payout for non-equity incentive plan compensation and additional compensation. The grand total topped out at $67,361,782.
Since TKO Group Holdings was created as an amalgamation of the UFC and WWE — before eventually adding other properties as well — the company has enjoyed robust revenues year after year. It’s expected that 2026 is likely going to produce huge numbers as well, especially after the UFC inked a seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast rights deal with Paramount that kicked off in January.
TKO Group Holdings president Mark Shapiro also enjoyed an increase in his overall pay after earning $31.96 million in 2024 and then jumping up to $42.64 million for 2025. That includes his $4 million base salary, $12.5 million in bonuses, $25.84 million in stock awards, and an additional $297,565 in compensation for a total of $42,644,346.
TKO Group Holdings is a publicly traded company, but the primary stockholder remains WME Group (previously known as Endeavor), which went from public to private in a deal led by Silver Lake Financial that closed back in 2025.
As part of that deal, Emanuel took home an additional $173.8 million as a payout, and he now serves as executive chairman of WME Group.
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