Contract Details For WWE's New President & CFO Nick Khan - Salary, Sign-On Bonus, More
WWE's latest SEC filing reveals details on the contract that they have signed new President & Chief Financial Officer Nick Khan to.
As noted on Wednesday, Khan is the former Co-Head of Television at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and has worked with other top companies in the industry. He will report directly to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon in his new job. You can click here to read WWE's press release on his hire, which includes comments from McMahon and Khan.
The contract notes that the term of the agreement is to be 5 years from Khan's anticipated start date of August 5. However, the employment is on an at-will basis so WWE or Khan can terminate the employment at any time, without cause or reason. The contract states Khan must provide WWE with 60 days advance written notice if he plans to quit. Khan will be based out of WWE HQ in Stamford, CT.
Khan's base salary is $1.2 million per year, payable on a bi-weekly basis. He also has a severance package that will see his base salary paid through the length of the contract, if certain criteria is met in regards to WWE's Severance Policy. He is also eligible to participate in WWE's Discretionary Bonus Plan, which is based on WWE's level of achievement and/or Khan's personal performance measures. The initial, annual target bonus is $1.9 million, which will be pro-rated for this year based on Khan's first day of work.
The filing notes that Khan is also receiving a one-time Sign-on Bonus of $5 million, payable on the first payroll following the beginning of his employment. Khan must reimburse the sign-on bonus if he leaves the company "without good reason" or if WWE terminates his employment for "cause" within the first 12 months. If the employment is terminated by WWE or Khan between 12 and 24 months, Khan must reimburse $3.1 million of the sign-on bonus. He will have to reimburse $1.2 million of the sign-on bonus if the job is terminated by WWE or Khan within 24 and 36 months.
Khan is required to relocate from California to Connecticut no later than August 31 of this year. He is receiving a Relocation Expense Benefit that includes up to 6 months of temporary housing to be arranged for by WWE or Khan, and paid directly to the provider. If arranged for by Khan, the cost must be pre-approved by WWE. He's also eligible for the reimbursement for costs of shipping his household goods from California to Connecticut for relocation. There are various stipulations to the Relocation Expense Benefit, which can be found in the full filing.
The job also comes with $15 million worth of Class A Common Stock. The first $6 million is to be paid around his official start date, while the remaining $9 million is to be issued around September 20, 2022. There are also various stipulation related to the WWE stock that is being granted to Khan. The contract notes that Khan will also be considered for eligibility in all future stock programs that are offered to other key executives in the company.
Other benefits that are included with the job include, but are not limited to medical, dental, life and disability. Khan will be automatically enrolled in WWE's 401k plan at 3%. WWE currently matches to the 401k 50% of contributions up to 6% of salary. Khan also is receiving 3 weeks of paid vacation and 3 paid personal days for the year.
The filing also includes Khan's Non-Disclosure, Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Agreement.
It's important to note that the full contract includes various stipulations, rules and criteria for earnings and other benefits, including the company Severance Policy and the stock program. You can see the contract by accessing the full SEC filing on the WWE Corporate website.