Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson scores mega payday to join the WWE’s board

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is trading in his muscle shirts for business suits: He’s joining the board of directors for TKO Group Holdings, the company consisting of the recently merged WWE and UFC. The company also announced Tuesday that it is partnering with Netflix, which next year will become the exclusive home of “WWE Raw.”

Johnson, a former WWE wrestler who has become one of Hollywood’s most marketable and well-known stars, is joining the board effective immediately. He also secures full ownership of his stage name, “The Rock,” as part of the deal.

The company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it will pay Johnson $30 million in stock awards to promote the brand as part of his new deal. The awards will vest over the course of 2024 and 2025.

In a press release Tuesday, the company praised Johnson’s “significant experience” in cultivating revenue and generating media rights for his other business ventures, including ZOA Energy drink, his production company Seven Bucks Production and overseeing the merger of the recently formed United Football League.

Johnson said his “crazy life is coming full circle” and that he is “very motivated to help continue to globally expand our TKO, WWE, and UFC businesses as the worldwide leaders in sports and entertainment.”

He added that he’s proud to represent “so many phenomenal athletes and performers who show up every day putting in the hard work with their own two hands to make their dreams come true and deliver for our audiences. I’ve been there, I’m still there and this is for them.”

The TKO board now has 13 members, following Tuesday’s appointment of Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell as well.

“Very few people on the planet understand the convergence of sports, entertainment, media, and business like Rock,” Vince McMahon, executive chairman of TKO’s board said. “We are proud to have him join the TKO board to help take our company to new heights.”

Last year, the World Wrestling Entertainment merged with Endeavor Group, the parent company of competitor UFC, to form a new publicly traded company called TKO.

The press release also noted that Johnson has been a client of Endeavor-owned WME talent agency for more than a decade.

Netflix deal

Separately, Netflix announced Tuesday that it has acquired the exclusive rights to “WWE Raw,” currently seen weekly on Comcast’s USA cable network. The show will begin streaming live January 2025.

WWE had an early foray into the streaming business but largely failed to win enough subscribers to support itself. It entered a deal with NBC in 2021, which sold WWE content as an add-on to its Peacock streaming service.

The deal is part of Netflix’s big push to air more live events. It has dabbled in live streaming before to mixed results, including a massive screw-up with its highly anticipated “Love is Blind” reunion last year that encountered technical issues that kept fans waiting for hours.

“This deal is transformative,” said Mark Shapiro, TKO President, in a statement. “It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years.”