Ari Emanuel’s compensation at TKO rose sharply in 2025, and the increase lines up with the structure of his pay package rather than a change to salary alone. TKO’s filings and follow-up coverage show that stock awards, bonuses, and incentive compensation did most of the work in pushing his total from about $18.1 million in 2024 to about $67.36 million in 2025.
Ari Emanuel 2025: UFC Parent TKO CEO Earned $67.3 Million
The jump was driven by the makeup of the package. Reports from MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin based on the filing show Emanuel’s 2025 compensation included a $3 million base salary, about $11.88 million in cash bonus, roughly $44 million in stock awards, plus non-equity incentive compensation and other pay that lifted the final total above $67 million. That marks a return to a level closer to 2023, when Emanuel’s total compensation at TKO was reported at $64.9 million.
TKO is a public company and executive pay is laid out in proxy materials ahead of shareholder meetings. TKO’s proxy materials explain that the company was formed through the September 2023 combination of UFC and WWE under TKO Group Holdings, and they identify WME Group as the portfolio of representation businesses still owned by Endeavor Group Holdings after Silver Lake’s take-private deal closed in March 2025. In the same orbit, Emanuel now serves as executive chairman of WME Group while remaining the key executive figure at TKO.
The filing cycle also gave a fresh look at what other TKO executives earned. Company president Mark Shapiro’s total compensation rose from about $31.96 million in 2024 to about $42.64 million in 2025, with reports listing a $4 million salary, a $12.5 million bonus, nearly $25.84 million in stock awards, and additional compensation. That context is useful because it shows the pay bump was not limited to Emanuel, even if his number drew the most attention.
KO reported full-year 2025 revenue of $4.735 billion and net income of $546.2 million, while projecting 2026 revenue in the range of $5.675 billion to $5.775 billion. Part of that 2026 outlook is tied to UFC’s new U.S. media deal with Paramount, a seven-year agreement worth $7.7 billion that began in 2026 and covers the promotion’s full live event slate in the United States.
