TKO has already changed how much it spends on WWE Superstars and UFC fighters, and Mark Shapiro says the company is comfortable with where those numbers landed. The TKO COO addressed talent pay at the Goldman Sachs Conference while also making it clear that the company still expects its profit margins to keep climbing.
Shapiro was asked about balancing what TKO spends on talent with the money it pours into developing and marketing WWE and UFC stars. He said compensation was already adjusted after the company landed its latest batch of massive media rights deals.
“Let’s talk about the pay for the superstars and our fighters first. What I would tell you is post our new deals with ESPN on WWE and with Paramount+, CBS, Peacock, Sky with UFC, and even a little bit post Raw with Netflix, we did resize our fighter and superstar pay composition. That is baked into our numbers. So there will be no further adverse impact with regard to how that plays out or divvies out. We’re confident with where we sit.”
In other words, TKO isn’t treating those pay changes like some future expense waiting to hit the books. Shapiro says the adjustments have already been made and factored into the company’s numbers. He then pointed to WWE’s developmental system as a big reason TKO believes its approach works. Shapiro said roughly 75% of WWE Superstars come through NXT, while UFC currently has around 600 fighters in its system.
“We have 600 fighters as an example in our stable at the UFC. We do, to your point, really rely on development. Keep in mind that when you look at the WWE, 75% of the superstars come from NXT. So they’re starting in our development league and going all the way up. So pipeline is very important to our strategy.”
Shapiro also said TKO plans to keep pushing other ways for talent to make money, including advertising deals, sponsorships, marketing partnerships and UFC performance bonuses.
“We will continue to be aggressive in other monetization opportunities for both our superstars and our UFC fighters with regard to advertiser deals, marketing partnerships, bonuses through the fight card in terms of finishes and fight of the night. What you see is you see the best of the best signing up and lining up to be a part of the UFC and to be a part of WWE. So that’s something we always watch out for and we want to make sure that we’re really spreading the opportunities, but the strategy’s working.”
“Our margins will continue to expand.”
Those comments come after WWE asked some talent, including former New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, to take pay cuts over the past year. WWE’s Netflix deal began in January 2025, while its ESPN agreement started in September 2025.
So while TKO is bringing in huge money from television and streaming deals, Shapiro’s message is that talent compensation has already been resized and the company likes the financial setup it has now. At the same time, he’s openly saying margins are expected to keep getting bigger — a combination that is definitely going to get people talking.
What do you think about TKO resizing WWE and UFC talent pay while expecting its margins to keep growing? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know.
