World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Chairman Vince McMahon is introduced in the course of the WWE Monday Night Raw show on the Thomas & Mack Center August 24, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Vince McMahon has pinned down a two-year employment contract at World Wrestling Entertainment.
The WWE chairman’s agreement dates back to Jan. 9, when he returned to the corporate, according to a securities filing. His deal comes as WWE has been actively in talks with suitors.
As a part of his latest contract, which comes with an annual base salary of $1.2 million, which incorporates an incentive bonus goal of 175% of that salary. If a deal were to be closed, McMahon would receive a $2.4 million lump sum payout, plus his incentive bonus could be doubled and paid upfront.
CEO Nick Khan told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan this week it has been a strong sale process thus far with many attracted bidders. Earlier within the week, CNBC’s David Faber, citing people conversant in the matter, reported it has been a “hot and heavy” process.
McMahon returned to WWE’s board in January help with the sale negotiations. He had stepped away from his CEO role last June under a cloud of accusations of sexual misconduct from former female WWE employees. Later, he announced his retirement.
On the time, his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, had taken over as co-CEO of WWE, a family business for the McMahons. She stepped down in January following Vince McMahon’s return.
Last month, Khan told CNBC that McMahon could be open to stepping down from his position “if it’s the fitting deal.” The potential future involvement of McMahon, who’s WWE’s controlling shareholder, has grow to be an early sticking point in preliminary talks with some buyers, CNBC previously reported.
“Vince made it clear to me and to the marketplace that he doesn’t have to be included in any offer or any deal moving forward, and he has held to his word on that as a lot of us predicted he would,” Khan said on CNBC earlier this week.
Khan added that since McMahon has been back within the last three months, he’s been “quite supplemental to myself, to creative, to have the expert of the business here when we wish to achieve out to him and have conversations.”
As well as, his contract gives McMahon the rights to his “life story” and related mental property, in response to the filing.
McMahon acquired the business from his father in 1982 and had run it up until 2022. He’s even stepped into the ring on quite a few occasions. His contract agreement gives him the rights to retell his life story with WWE, with the guarantee that he would not face any lawsuits or retribution from the business in the long run.
WWE shares are up about 34% thus far this 12 months, easily outpacing the broader market, amid the intensifying sale talk.
