After the controversial Warner Bros. & Paramount mega-merger ultimately materialized, top executives like David Ellison and co. have gotten a significant salary hike. Four executives of the newly created Skydance have been handed a brand new contract extension.
Per a report from Deadlinethe base annual salary for Ellison, who serves as the CEO, will now be $5 million. Additionally, Ellison also got a significant boost to the annual target bonus, as he will now be pocketing $5 million annually.
The latest contract also grants Ellison annual equity awards starting from 2027. The 43-year-old will be eligible for an aggregate grant date value of $5 million. Such a number will further be boosted to an annual awards value of $20 million in 2031.
Apart from Ellison, Makan Delrahim (Chief Legal Officer), Dennis Cinelli (CFO), and Andrew Brandon-Gordon (President) will also see their annual base salaries increase to $4 million (Delrahim and Brandon-Gordon) and $3.4 million (Cinelli), respectively. Additionally, Target annual bonuses will rise to $2.6 million for the three execs.
How long does David Ellison’s contract at Skydance currently last?
David Ellison has an employment contract with Skydance that will continue to remain in effect till August 7, 2031. Alongside him, Andrew Brandon-Gordon will remain under contract with Skydance until the same date. Makan Delrahim has a contract that runs until October 6, 2031, and for Dennis Cinelli, the current contract shall end on January 15, 2032. According to reports from Deadline, these dates were disclosed in an SEC filing made by the company on October 6, 2026.
Skydance is also giving these four executives company stock as part of their compensation. Ellison is entitled to RSUs covering 104,167 shares of Skydance’s Class B common stock. For Brandon-Gordon and Cinelli, it is 29,167 and 26,042 shares, respectively. For Delrahim, it is 91,667 shares.
Adding to this, three executives are entitled to getting large financial rewards from Skydance. Ellison will receive $50 million in cash and $100 million worth of RSUs. Brandon-Gordon will be getting $23 million worth of RSUs alongside $15 million in cash, and Delrahim will get $12.5 million in cash and $12.5 million worth of RSUs.