WWE President Nick Khan Receives New Contract As TKO Boasts First Quarter Revenue

Nick Khan will be sticking around as the WWE President though the end of the decade.

It was revealed during the TKO quarterly financial report, which was filed with the SEC on Wednesday, that Khan will see his yearly base salary increase to $3 million starting in 2027. His new deal will run through the end of 2030.

Per TKO, Khan will also be eligible for annual yearly bonuses of 200% of his base salary throughout the duration of his contract.

Khan was also the recipient of a signing equity award worth $11 million in restricted stock, which will vest over a four year period, and a one-time payment of $5 as a special performance incentive. All told for 2025, Khan earned $24.3 million in 2025 when combining his base salary, stock awards and contract bonuses.

WWE has pulled in hundreds of millions so far in 2026

Nick Khan and Paul 'Triple' Levesque | Imago/MediaPunch

TKO revealed their official financial results for the first quarter of 2026 on Wednesday.

The company announced that they earned nearly $1.6 billion in revenue, with a net income of $249.8 million. WWE saw its revenue increase substantially, driven largely by hosting the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia and the ongoing Netflix and ESPN media rights agreements.

WWE 2026 First Quarter Highlights:

Revenue increased 22%, or $84.2 million, to $475.7 million driven by increases in live events and hospitality, media rights, production and content, consumer products and marketing revenues.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 32%, or $62.2 million, to $256.1 million, primarily due to the increase in revenue (as described above) partially offset by an increase in expenses. Direct operating costs increased primarily due to higher talent and production costs, most notably related to Royal Rumble, compared to the prior year period.

TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro hopped on the call to tout the success of WrestleMania 42, which was one of the more profitable events WWE has ever held. While a decrease in ticket sales compared to WrestleMania 41 was a major talking point in the media this year, Shapiro said they were never concerned about ticket performance.

"It was unrealistic to expect year two growth in Las Vegas. Even with that, WrestleMania 42 was still one of the highest gates in WWE history and easily outperformed anywhere else we could have staged it."

When it comes to recent complaints about the WWE creative process, namely the inclusion of ESPN's Pat McAfee and Grammy Award winner Jelly Roll into the WWE Championship storyline ahead of the 'Showcase of the Immortals', Shapiro says they are always listening to their audience.

"There will always be periodic fan dissatisfaction around creative execution, commercial load, and celebrity usage. We listen to all the feedback. We do not turn a deaf ear, but these are not new criticisms,” Shapiro said.

Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll were reportedly set to take part in a tag team bout at this weekend's Backlash Premium Live Event in Tampa, but McAfee allegedly pulled himself from the storyline involving Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton due to the loud criticism from the fanbase.

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