When the UFC quietly announced its sale on Sunday night, the immediate questions were about Dana White's future with the company. The president of UFC for the last 15 years had a nine percent stake in the business, which was expected to be part of the $4 billion sale.
Now, it appears he isn't going anywhere. White has a new five-year contract with UFC plus a nine percent stake in the company's net profits, according to ESPN.
White will make roughly $360 million when his nine percent ownership stake is sold to WME-IMG this week when the deal closes, and his new contract will ensure the money keeps rolling in. White was given a portion of the business when Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta bought UFC for roughly $2 million in 2001 when many were skeptical on the sport's future.
"No other sport compares to UFC," White said upon announcement of the sale. "Our goal has always been to put on the biggest and the best fights for our fans, and to make this the biggest sport in the world. I'm looking forward to working with WME-IMG to continue to take this sport to the next level."
As ESPN points out, using UFC's gross profits of $600 million in 2015 as an example, White could have made approximately $18 million had this percentage-point deal been in place last year. Considering NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was averaging $21 million per year for a decade, anything in that range is a substantial salary for White, especially considering UFC is only going to continue growing.
