• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
TechFuture of Work

Here’s How Much Gawker’s Nick Denton Will Be Paid to Not Work

By
Mathew Ingram
Mathew Ingram
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Mathew Ingram
Mathew Ingram
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 23, 2016, 1:00 PM ET
Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, Testifies In Gawker Media Lawsuit
Photograph by John Pendygraft-Pool—Getty Images

Gawker Media founder Nick Denton is saying goodbye to his former company after broadcaster Univision agreed to acquire the publisher of popular websites such as Gizmodo and Jezebel for $135 million as part of a court-ordered bankruptcy auction.

Univision has agreed to hire 95% of the company’s former employees, but Denton isn’t among them.

However, the Gawker founder does get a consolation prize. According to the acquisition documents, he is to be paid $16,666 a month for the next two years as part of a non-compete clause.

The agreement, which Univision reportedly insisted on as part of the acquisition, says that Denton agrees not to “associate with any business enterprise” that is engaged in the same business as Gawker in either the U.S., Puerto Rico, or Hungary without first getting permission from Univision.

Although most of the content for Gawker Media’s websites was created in New York, where the company recently leased an office near Union Square, much of the web development and technical work behind the sites was done by a separate subsidiary based in Hungary. According to the Wall Street Journal, Denton was paid $500,000 a year by Gawker.

In a farewell letter he wrote to employees of Gawker, which he founded 14 years ago, Denton said that he was getting out of the “news and gossip business.” But he also said he was thinking about moving on to other projects that would involve making the web “a forum for the open exchange of ideas and information.”

Denton added that while the main Gawker.com website was shutting down, it might have a “second act” of some kind in the future, provided “the smoke clears and a new owner can be found.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Gawker was forced into bankruptcy protection after former wrestler Hulk Hogan won a $140 million judgment against the company in a privacy-invasion lawsuit. Hogan launched the suit because Gawker published a clip from a sex tape that the wrestler recorded with a friend’s wife.

After the judgment was handed down, it was revealed that PayPal (PYPL) founder and Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel had financed the Hogan lawsuit, hoping to drive Gawker out of business for invading people’s privacy. He said he blamed the site for outing him as a gay man in 2007.

In addition to Gawker filing for bankruptcy, Denton also filed for personal bankruptcy because he and two other Gawker editors were named in the Hogan suit and are therefore required to help pay the damages. The Gawker founder listed a 30% stake in Gawker and a New York apartment as his only assets.

Gawker’s Nick Denton just challenged Peter Thiel to a debate. Watch:

The proceeds from the sale of Gawker to Univision will be placed in an escrow account while the company proceeds with an appeal of the Hogan decision. If Hogan wins, he will get the funds from the sale. But if the appeal is successful, Denton and Gawker’s other owners could get some of that money back.

Univision has agreed to buy most of the company’s websites, including Deadspin, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Jezebel, and Kotaku. But it didn’t want the main Gawker.com website because that site was associated with the Hogan lawsuit and a number of other unsavory stories.

Once the acquisition is finalized, the Gawker sites will become part of Univision’s Fusion Media Group, which includes the website Fusion—which Univision launched in 2013 in partnership with Disney—as well as the African-American culture site The Root and a stake in the humor site The Onion.

The bankruptcy court still has to approve the non-compete payments to Denton as part of the acquisition agreement, which is expected to close on September 9.

About the Author
By Mathew Ingram
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Sheryl Sandberg tells Gen Z the 10-year career plan is dead as AI wipes out entry-level jobs: ‘Don’t script your career when the future is uncertain’
Successcareer
Sheryl Sandberg tells Gen Z the 10-year career plan is dead as AI wipes out entry-level jobs: ‘Don’t script your career when the future is uncertain’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleMay 21, 2026
2 hours ago
Microsoft lost its way in the AI race. Can Copilot get it back on course?
MagazineMicrosoft
Microsoft lost its way in the AI race. Can Copilot get it back on course?
By Jeremy KahnMay 21, 2026
2 hours ago
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Big TechSpaceX
Elon Musk’s proposed pay package in SpaceX’s IPO filing reveals what the company actually is: a $1 trillion monster built to colonize Mars
By Eva RoytburgMay 20, 2026
9 hours ago
elon
SuccessIPOs
SpaceX IPO targets $28.5 trillion total addressable market, mission to ‘make life multiplanetary’ and understand ‘true nature of the universe’
By Nick LichtenbergMay 20, 2026
11 hours ago
Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia
AINvidia
Nvidia tells skeptical investors that AI is ready to go mainstream
By Ian King and BloombergMay 20, 2026
11 hours ago
SpaceX finally files IPO prospectus, reveals revenue is up–but losses are too
Big TechSpaceX
SpaceX finally files IPO prospectus, reveals revenue is up–but losses are too
By Allie Garfinkle and Alexei OreskovicMay 20, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
18 hours ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
4 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
9 days ago
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
Workplace Culture
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 20, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 20, 2026
19 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.