TKO COO Mark Shapiro On Talent Pay: We’re Going To Share As Much As Makes Sense With UFC Fighters And WWE Superstars

TKO COO Mark Shapiro was a guest at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, and he was asked about the talent pay structure.

“We’re running a pretty lean cost structure. In that cost structure is fighter pay. We’re going to continue to do right by our fighters and superstars. The cream of the crop will be paid the premium dollars. We invest in the product. Our last deal with ESPN saw us give bonuses for Fight of the Night, Knockdown or Submission of the Night. Saw us give fees for any of the global partnership deals we did, and consumer licensing deals we’ve done. We’re going to share as much as makes sense with the stars of both leagues. We will be very competitive. We are very competitive. We pay more than any other competitor we have in combat sports. We know why we’re here. It’s a team effort. It’s our brand. It’s the work Dana White does. On the WWE side, it’s the creative force that Triple H. It’s the strategy that Nick Khan drives. It’s ultimately the hard work put in by our crews. We’re doing a lot of work per week. There are a lot of events to put down. There are no breaks. It’s 52 weeks a year, so we have to pay for performance in terms of our people and the same goes for our fighters and superstars. You shouldn’t expect anything out of the ordinary, it’s a run rate for us, but we’re focused on it. Yes, you’ll get some of those Conor McGregors or Jon Jones that move the needle and get paid a little more, but they deliver more in return. It’s a scale and a formula. We’re very transparent about it with our fighters and superstars,” he said.

UFC was giving Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses before they signed a media rights deal with ESPN.

Elsewhere during the conference, Shapiro commented on WWE ticket pricing. You can find his full comments here.

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