David Zaslav will receive $606.1 million after Paramount completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, 2026. The payout, disclosed in an October 8 SEC filing, covers company shares, stock options, and restricted stock units tied to the merger. Zaslav led Warner Bros. Discovery for more than four years after creating the company through its earlier combination. The package includes $381.7 million in stock options before withholding taxes, while the proceeds may also face capital gains taxes. The merger money comes with a catch Zaslav also held 14.98 million stock options that became worthless because their exercise prices exceeded Paramount’s acquisition price of $31.0167 per share. Since Warner Bros. Discovery reached its deal with Paramount in February, Zaslav separately sold nearly $200 million in company stock. The leadership reset is bigger than Zaslav. CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, chief revenue and strategy officer Bruce Campbell, Warner Bros. film chiefs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca, and networks and streaming distribution president Scott Miller are also leaving, while shareholders previously rejected proposed 2025 compensation plans and merger related exit packages for Zaslav and other executives.