Discovery CEO Received $246 Million in Compensation in 2021, Including Big Options Grant

David Zaslav’s compensation is the largest CEO pay package reported by an S&P 500 company so far this year

Discovery Inc. Chief Executive David Zaslav received total compensation valued at $246.6 million in 2021, including nearly $203 million in options grants, more than sextupling his compensation from the year before, the company said in a securities filing Monday.

Mr. Zaslav’s compensation package is the highest CEO pay reported by any S&P 500 company so far this year, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from securities filings provided by MyLogIQ LLC.

Mr. Zaslav’s salary was flat at $3 million. The increase in compensation stems largely from a massive grant of stock options on the eve of last year’s announcement Discovery’s plans to merge with AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia.

Given the strike prices of the options granted to Mr. Zaslav, Discovery’s share price would have to rise considerably for those options to be in the money.

He also received a $4.4 million discretionary cash bonus, which Discovery said in a filing earlier this month was for his leadership through the Covid-19 pandemic, growing the company’s Discovery+ streaming service and his efforts last year to negotiate the merger with WarnerMedia.

After Mr. Zaslav, thenext highest-paid CEO is Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook, who received total compensation of about $99 million in 2021, according to a securities filing from Apple.

Around the time of the merger last year, Mr. Zaslav signed a new contract that runs through 2027, according to the filing. The contract gives Mr. Zaslav a car allowance of $1,400 a month and access to Discovery’s corporate jet, the filing shows.

Discovery is planning to merge with WarnerMedia, whose assets include Warner Bros., CNN and the HBO Max streaming service, in the second quarter. AT&T shareholders are in line to get a roughly 71% stake in the entertainment company, which will be called Warner Bros. Discovery.