WWE Will Restate Earnings To Account For Vince McMahon’s $14.6M “Unrecorded Payments”, Warns Investors Of Current & Future Probes

Jill Goldsmith
·2 min read
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World Wrestling Entertainment said Monday that $14.6 million of payments by former CEO Vince McMahon from 2006-22 weren’t recorded in the company’s accounts but should have been, and as a result the company will revise some of its previously issued financial statements.

McMahon resigned Friday as CEO and chairman of WWE in the midst of a scandal that has the board investigating him for payouts to women, including former employees, in exchange for silence over affairs and inappropriate conduct. The company noted in an SEC filing today that it “has received, and may receive in the future, regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands arising from, related to, or in connection with these matters.”

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“The company expects to conclude that its internal control over financial reporting was not effective,” the filing said.

WWE plans to “record the unrecorded expenses” for the applicable periods in 2019, 2020 and 2021, as well as for the 2022 quarter that ended in June. “All payments underlying the Unrecorded Expenses were or will be paid by Vince McMahon personally,” the company said.

“As previously announced,” WWE added, “a special committee of independent members of the Board is conducting an investigation into alleged misconduct by Vince McMahon, which investigation remains ongoing.”

McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon, who was named interim CEO pending the internal investigation, will be WWE’s chair and co-CEO along with Nick Khan, who joined WWE from CAA in 2020. Stephanie McMahon is chief brand officer. Khan is chief revenue officer.

WWE’s Stephanie McMahon Relays Thanks From Father Vince McMahon On ‘Friday Night SmackDown’

McMahon took over WWE from his father in the early 1980s and turned it into a global media empire with lucrative partnerships with NBCUniversal and Fox in the U.S., and deals for streaming and other rights in 180 countries around the world. Last year, it inked a billion-dollar agreement to have its streaming network absorbed into NBCU’s Peacock.

WWE said it’s evaluating “the appropriate accounting treatment” and impact of the unrecorded expenses on previously reported financial statements and hopes to put out a full accounting along with its second quarter earnings report by August 19. It said it might not be able to make that deadline.

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