Netflix, SiriusXM Boosted Law Chiefs’ Pay, Among Best in Media

Two of the most highly compensated lawyers in the media industry—the legal chiefs for Netflix Inc. and Sirius XM Holdings Inc.—saw their pay rise last year as both companies battled to add subscribers.

Netflix‘s chief legal officer David Hyman saw his pay grow by nearly a third to almost $13.3 million in 2022, while Sirius XM’s general counsel Patrick Donnelly nearly tripled his pay to $8.8 million, per proxy filings by the two companies.

Netflix added fewer than 9 million customers last year, its slowest pace since 2011, Bloomberg News reported. The company also had a lower-than-expected subscriber gain in the first quarter. Sirius XM added 348,000 self-pay subscribers in 2022, ending the year with 32.4 million, according to its fourth quarter earnings report issued in February.

Hyman, who has been Netflix’s top lawyer since 2002, received more than $7.2 million in option awards and $6 million in base salary, according to a proxy filed by the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company. He earned $10.2 million in 2021.

Netflix disclosed in December that Hyman had agreed to cut his base salary by $2 million this year in order to qualify for a larger portion of stock options going forward that typically vest over several years. Hyman’s compensation this year is comprised of $4 million in cash and $7 million in stock.

Hyman owns nearly $10.4 million in Netflix stock, according to Bloomberg data, which shows that Donnelly currently controls Sirius XM shares with a market valuation of about $2.5 million.

Sirius XM‘s Donnelly, who has spent more than two decades as the company’s general counsel, saw his pay rise to $8.8 million because of almost $6 million in stock and options awards he was given last year, according to its proxy statement. He received more than $3.1 million in 2021.

The New York-based satellite radio company said Donnelly’s additional stock awards will be pegged to its own financial performance. Donnelly, whose pay also included a little more than $1 million in base salary and a nearly $1.6 million bonus, has finalized a new contract that keeps him at Sirius XM through 2024.

Sirius XM’s proxy disclosed that it also paid nearly $272,000 last year to board member Jonelle Procope, a former associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York who is poised to step down as president and chief executive of the nonprofit Apollo Theater Foundation Inc.

Netflix, meanwhile, gave more than $436,000 in total compensation last year to board member and Microsoft Corp. vice chairman and president Bradford Smith. Microsoft disclosed last year that Smith, the company’s top lawyer, received $23.4 million in total compensation during fiscal 2022.

Netflix also confirmed in December its hire of former Mayer Brown partner William McGarrity to be its new top tax controversy lawyer as the company grapples with various streaming tax issues. Netflix is cracking down on customer password-sharing in an effort to improve its financial performance.