During his appearance at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, TKO Group Holdings President Mark Shapiro addressed several topics, including the compensation of UFC fighters and WWE superstars.
His remarks come amid ongoing industry discussions about athlete pay in combat sports and sports entertainment. Shapiro highlighted that projected financial growth includes planned salary increases for talent.
He also provided insights into the company’s recent financial performance, noting that it achieved adjusted EBITDA margins of 33.5% last year. He mentioned that internal projections estimate this year’s midpoint at approximately 39.6%.
According to Shapiro, these forward-looking figures already account for increases in compensation for fighters and superstars. He emphasized that paying talent fairly remains a priority as revenues grow.
Shapiro said, “Our margins last year were, adjusted for EBITDA, 33.5%. We have announced that midpoint in our guidance, we’re going to be roughly 39.6%, and that margin is inclusive of an increase of fighter and superstar pay. We take that very seriously.”
In discussing the UFC, Shapiro mentioned the promotion’s recent transition of media rights to Paramount+. He noted that fighter bonuses were doubled at the beginning of this new agreement. Shapiro explained that this decision is part of a larger strategy to reinvest revenue gains back into the fighters. Although he didn’t provide specific future figures, he suggested that further increases are anticipated as the business continues to perform well.
“We are focused on all the ingredients that make our events what they are, and that starts with fighters and superstars. Whatever increases we have, and we will have increases, that are inclusive of the margins and guidance we have targeted.”
WWE and UFC now operate under the TKO umbrella after their merger, making compensation structures a key point of interest among athletes and analysts.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
