Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is inking a promotional deal with WWE that will pay him more than $30 million, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission Tuesday.
TKO Group, the parent of WWE and UFC, named Johnson to its board of directors Tuesday, as part of a move to increase the size of the board to 13 members from 11. Joining Johnson on the TKO board is technology executive Brad Keywell.
At the same time, Johnson has agreed to a merchandising and promotional agreement with WWE that will allow the wrestling company to use his name, image and likeness for up to a decade. In return, TKO will give Johnson stock worth $30 million, based on the recent 30-day weighted average—probably around the value of $76 a share, or about 400,000 shares.
The deal has the potential to be even more lucrative for Johnson: TKO was valued just four months ago at $105.98 a share. Should TKO return to that level, Johnson’s share award would be worth more than $42 million.
Under terms of the promotional deal, Johnson received a quarter of the stock Monday when the deal became effective, and he will get another 25% at year’s end; another 25% will be doled out in monthly increments in 2025. The remaining quarter of the stock grant will come when Johnson fulfills certain benchmarks set forth in the services agreement, which hasn’t been disclosed.
The arrangement pulls Johnson closer in to the fold at WWE, where he began as a performer in 1996. The Rock has already been making recent appearances at WWE events, earning $491,000 in royalties for appearances in 2023 alone. He will continue to get such royalties on top of the new deal, according to the filing.
Contrary to popular belief, Johnson and WWE never had a dispute over his use of the name The Rock, which was originally a character developed when he was a WWE wrestler. Vince McMahon handed Johnson ownership of the name after a friendly discussion some years ago when Johnson wanted to pursue entertainment outside of wrestling, Johnson told Howard Stern in 2004.
McMahon sold WWE to Endeavor Group Holdings last year, which merged WWE with UFC into publicly traded TKO.
