EA CEO Andrew Wilson took a pay lower final yr on the behest of shareholders, and we in spite of everything know through about how a lot: a whopping $20 million. However, as with maximum government pay eventualities, the intricacies of Wilson’s pay don’t seem to be relatively that easy.
Within the earlier yr, 2021, Wilson earned $39.2 million between his base wage of $1.25 million and a package of more than a few inventory awards, grants, and different kinds of further reimbursement which can be conventional for best executives. However the EA board of administrators was once below force to reform the ones numbers. A 2020 “say on pay” vote through shareholders had indicated that most effective 26% of the corporate’s shareholders had been proud of the present pay schemes, after equivalent votes in earlier years had indicated overwhelming toughen for government pay.
The wave of displeasure was once at least partially instigated by CtW Investment Group, a company that through the years has taken numerous firms to job over top government pay, together with EA and Activision Snowstorm. The group accused EA of “growing a different award grant dependancy,” noting how a lot of Wilson’s reimbursement was once in accordance with huge bonuses. And certainly the next yr, a $30 million inventory grant was once awarded to Wilson in 2021 to lend a hand “retain and encourage” him.
Whilst the shareholder ‘say on pay’ votes are non-binding, they do take the temperature of the shareholders, and provoking an amazing collection of them is certain to have penalties. So for 2022, EA opted to skip numerous Wilson’s standard primary bonuses. Whilst his base wage technically higher from $1.25 million to $1.3 million, absent sure bonuses, he earned $19.9 million general in fiscal 2022, a just about $20 million drop from 2021, according to EA’s filing.
We do not know but what Wilson will make within the present fiscal yr, which for EA started in April of this yr. The corporate will grasp every other vote this yr in August, which can permit its shareholders to specific their pride, or no longer, with how it is reformed its pay construction. And it has reiterated its dedication to not grant any particular fairness awards to government officials via 2026, even though there are nonetheless a number of alternative ways for best brass to obtain vital salaries. For example, he won a $30 million inventory grant in 2021, and an $18 million this previous yr, either one of which made up the majority of his pay each and every yr and may well be higher once more in years to come.
A document previous this yr compared gaming executive compensation again in 2020, at which era Playtika CEO Robert Antokol was once the highest-earning CEO at $372 million. Activision-Snowstorm CEO Bobby Kotick introduced in $154.6 million that yr, and Wilson made $34.7 million. For comparability, that very same yr EA median worker reimbursement was once $123,935. According to its 2021 document, that median decreased final yr to $115,569.
Rebekah Valentine is a information reporter for IGN. You’ll be able to to find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
