- Paramount Skydance's president is leaving his role with a payout of at least $5 million.
- Jeff Shell, who was brought on to advise CEO David Ellison, is fighting a whistleblower lawsuit.
- Paramount said the allegations against Shell "do not establish a securities law violation."
Jeff Shell is leaving Paramount Skydance with a big bag of cash.
Shell, who helped CEO David Ellison manage the media company's day-to-day operations, will receive about $5 million in cash severance, including his $3.5 million salary and $1.5 million target bonus, the company told investors on Thursday.
Shell will also receive "accelerated vesting" as he leaves Paramount, the company said, though it's unclear how much of that he'll get paid.
He received restricted stock units valued at $75 million last August that were scheduled to vest each year.
Shell stepped down from Paramount this week to focus on defending against a $150 million lawsuit from whistleblower RJ Cipriani, who alleges that Shell disclosed sensitive, non-public information, such as its deal to land UFC rights in the US.
Paramount said in a statement announcing Shell's departure that it "followed standard practice" and had a law firm perform "a complete and thorough review" of Cipriani's allegations. It concluded that "these allegations do not establish a securities law violation."
The company said it was "grateful for Mr. Shell's many contributions and to have relied on him as a valued advisor."
Shell previously was the chairman of RedBird Sports and Media and the CEO of NBCUniversal, where he was fired for cause after facing allegations of sexual misconduct. Shell acknowledged that he had an "inappropriate relationship" with a colleague and forfeited more than $43 million in severance that he would have otherwise gotten from NBCU.
The longtime executive was brought on to assist Ellison as Skydance, the production company Ellison started, merged with Paramount, and is now attempting to join forces with Warner Bros. Discovery.
