CompBrief BY VELARION

Companies NextDecade

NextDecade (NEXT): executive pay, fiscal 2025

Free brief. Every figure links to the company’s own filing.

Velarion Intel: free for 3 days, no card →

Email me NextDecade’s executive pay brief as a PDF

You get it on this page the moment you ask, and a copy by email. Every figure is cited to its filing.

After the PDF, up to three short notes on the deeper reports for this company. Reply “unsubscribe” to any of them, any time.

Also free: The Pay Desk, the weekly executive pay briefing.
CEO total pay$12,843,261CEO Matthew Schatzman · source
Say-on-pay support83.25%Latest vote · source
CEO vs. named peers30th pct.Of 12 peer CEOs
CEO pay ratio53:1To the median employee · source

CEO pay, last three years

  • $11,587,552FY2023
  • $4,729,312FY2024
  • $12,843,261FY2025

CEO total pay was $12,843,261 in fiscal 2025, up from $4,729,312 in fiscal 2024.

FY2025: salary $925,000 · bonus $0 · stock awards $9,903,480 · option awards $0

Executives and directors

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at NextDecade in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Matthew Schatzman (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at NextDecade in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $12,843,261.
How does NextDecade's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Matthew Schatzman's total compensation ranked at the 30th percentile of NextDecade's disclosed peer group.
What is NextDecade's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
As disclosed, NextDecade's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 53:1.
How did shareholders vote on NextDecade's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 83.25% of shareholders supported NextDecade's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does NextDecade spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, NextDecade reported total board compensation of $1,396,935 for fiscal 2025.

Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.

Full detail

Every table from the filing. Open any section.

Summary compensation table
Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Matthew Schatzman$925,000$0$9,903,480$0$2,014,781$0$0$12,843,261
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Vera de Gyarfas521,66702,235,0500762,730021,0003,540,447
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Tarik Skeik463,33301,926,5000664,110021,0003,074,943
Chief Operating Officer
Michael Mott438,8900809,1200469,587001,717,597
Interim Chief Financial Officer
Brent Wahl456,25001,038,57200001,494,822
Former Chief Financial Officer

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY2024→2025
Matthew Schatzman$12,843,261$4,729,312$11,587,552↑ +8,113,949
Vera de Gyarfas3,540,4471,536,3812,956,426↑ +2,004,066
Tarik Skeik3,074,9431,410,955—↑ +1,663,988
Michael Mott1,717,597———
Brent Wahl1,494,8221,999,7684,786,267↓ −504,946

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The executive compensation program is designed to attract and retain highly qualified executives and to motivate sustained long-term stockholder value creation. The Committee seeks to maintain an appropriate balance between cash and equity compensation consistent with peer practice, with a substantial portion of Named Executive Officer compensation delivered through performance-based incentives to reinforce a strong pay-for-performance orientation.

CEO STI target (% of salary)—
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingtrue
Anti-pledgingtrue
Equity grants and outstanding awards

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Brent WahlPSU2025-08-2940,81281,623—163,246$1,284,746
Tarik SkeikRSU2025-08-29——46,641—499,992
Tarik SkeikPSU2025-08-2923,32146,641—93,282734,129
Vera de GyarfasRSU2025-08-29——58,302—624,997
Vera de GyarfasPSU2025-08-2929,15158,302—116,604917,673
Tarik SkeikPSU2025-08-2923,32146,641—93,282734,129
Michael MottRSU2025-08-29——19,589—209,994
Michael MottPSU2025-08-299,79519,589—39,178308,331
Tarik SkeikPSU2025-09-16099,337—99,337692,379
Brent WahlPSU2025-09-160149,006—149,0061,038,572
Brent WahlRSU2025-08-29——81,623—874,999
Vera de GyarfasPSU2025-09-16099,337—99,337692,379
Tarik SkeikRSU2025-08-29——46,641—499,992
Matthew SchatzmanPSU2025-08-29128,265256,529—513,0584,037,766
Matthew SchatzmanPSU2025-09-160447,019—447,0193,115,722
Matthew SchatzmanRSU2025-08-29——256,529—2,749,991
Michael MottPSU2025-09-16041,721—41,721290,795
Tarik SkeikPSU2025-09-16099,337—99,337692,379

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Brent Wahl$874,999$2,323,318$072.6%
Tarik Skeik999,9842,853,016074.0%
Vera de Gyarfas624,9971,610,052072.0%
Michael Mott209,994599,126074.0%
Matthew Schatzman2,749,9917,153,488072.2%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Michael MottPSU20,606—$108,592
Tarik SkeikPSU23,321—122,899
Michael MottOption38,18110—
Vera de GyarfasPSU54,892—289,282
Brent WahlRSU74,503—392,631
Vera de GyarfasOption90,90910—
Tarik SkeikOption90,90910—
Michael MottRSU166,712—878,572
Tarik SkeikRSU196,212—1,034,037
Matthew SchatzmanPSU244,100—1,286,409
Matthew SchatzmanOption409,09010—
Vera de GyarfasRSU409,627—2,158,734
Matthew SchatzmanRSU1,907,322—10,051,587
Director compensation
DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Sir Frank ChapmanIndependent$130,000$124,995———$254,995
L. Spencer WellsIndependent120,000124,995———244,995
William VrattosIndependent115,000124,995———239,995
Brian BelkeIndependent115,000124,995———239,995
Edward Andrew ScogginsIndependent100,000124,995———224,995
Pamela BeallIndependent42,74053,240———95,980
Diana SandsIndependent42,74053,240———95,980
Avinash KripalaniIndependent00———0
In Kyu ParkIndependent00———0
Arnaud Lenail-ChouteauIndependent00———0
Giovanni OddoIndependent00———0
Timothy WyattIndependent00———0

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$100,000
Annual equity retainer$125,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)20,000 / 15,000 / 15,000
Stock ownership guideline$5

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$665,480
Equity awards (grant-date value)$731,455
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$1,396,935

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

Peer group, and who names NextDecade as a peer

Companies that benchmark against NEXT

No companies currently name NEXT as a compensation peer in their most recent disclosure.

This is the complete answer, not a partial one — the list is never padded.

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

Chief executive pay against the peer group

Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company’s own proxy statement.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1Venture Global, Inc.2025Michael Sabel$7,432,392$0$0$0$39,104,905
2Cheniere Energy, Inc.2025Jack Fusco1,765,38519,291,78404,569,60025,647,769
3Sempra2025Jeffrey Martin1,700,0009,873,9164,580,0175,287,40022,245,589
4NRG Energy, Inc.2025Lawrence Coben1,473,42316,764,47303,505,23021,788,422
5Targa Resources Corp.2025Matthew Meloy1,170,66716,275,9930021,470,708
6Talen Energy Corp.2025Mark McFarland1,131,34614,505,98602,054,41318,739,647
7Coterra Energy Inc.2024Thomas Jorden1,198,55810,628,85002,500,00014,748,960
8APA Corp.2025John Christmann IV1,300,0006,018,4361,897,9963,454,36013,202,517
9NextDecade2025Matthew Schatzman925,0009,903,48002,014,78112,843,261
10DT Midstream, Inc.2025David Slater852,2036,282,37101,839,9389,328,071
11Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp.2025Christopher Stavros870,1924,314,30901,480,5006,693,001
12Kinetik Holdings Inc.2025Jamie Welch276,9235,140,8410487,5006,156,243

Each peer’s compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer’s figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
NextDecadenot disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50not disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
APA Corp.189.8%PSU 60 · Options 20 · RSU 20Yes — Relative TSRPearl Meyer & Partners, LLC
Cheniere Energy, Inc.160%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — ATSRMeridian
Coterra Energy Inc.174%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Relative TSRF.W. Cook and Zayla Partners
DT Midstream, Inc.152.62%PSU 70 · RSU 30NoMeridian Compensation Partners LLC
Kinetik Holdings Inc.65%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Annualized TSRMeridian Compensation Partners
Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp.not disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50not disclosedFW Cook
NRG Energy, Inc.158%RPSU 67 · RSU 33Yes — Relative TSR vs S&P 500 constituentsPay Governance
Sempra173%PRSU 66.67 · Option 33.33 · RSU 33.33NoExequity
Talen Energy Corp.135%PSU 70 · RSU 30NoLyons, Benenson & Company Inc.
Targa Resources Corp.190%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Relative TSR vs. Alerian US Midstream Index (AMUS)Meridian Compensation Partners
Venture Global, Inc.not disclosedOption 100not disclosedFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.

Read from each company’s Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company’s filing does not state the item.

Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-06-03164,777,79532,970,500186,17983.25%Passed
20252025-06-04189,733,96822,626,202245,38089.24%Passed
20242024-06-03181,260,4268,209,927150,43795.59%Passed
20222022-06-22118,896,1658,714,9669,93293.16%Passed
20212021-06-15119,248,989217,2075,68099.81%Passed

Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year’s compensation.

Say-on-pay — history, company’s computation

Meeting yearMeeting dateApproval — company’s computation
20262026-06-0383.25%a
20252025-06-0489.24%b
20242024-06-0395.59%c

a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “The proposal related to the amendment of the Company's 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as amended (" Proposal 2 "), the proposal regarding the advisory vote on compensation paid to the Company's named executive officers (" Proposal 3 ") and the proposal seeking ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company's independent registered public accountants and auditors for 2026 (" Proposal 4 ") each requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of Common Stock present in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote thereon. || Abstentions: Abstentions will have the same effect as a vote against Proposal 2, Proposal 3 and Proposal 4.”.

b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “The proposal related to the amendment of the Company's 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as amended (" Proposal 2 "), the proposal regarding the advisory vote on compensation paid to the Company's named executive officers (" Proposal 3 ") and the proposal seeking ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company's independent registered public accountants and auditors for 2025 (" Proposal 4 ") each requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of Common Stock present in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote thereon. || Abstentions: Abstentions will have the same effect as a vote against Proposal 2, Proposal 3 and Proposal 4.”.

c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Abstentions will have the same effect as a vote against Proposal 2, Proposal 3 and Proposal 4.”.

Approval percentages are the company’s own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)53 : 1
CEO total compensation$12,844,656
Median employee compensation$242,610
Insider trades since the proxy

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

Sources (54 citations)

Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

  • Section 01, Matthew Schatzman. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 30. As printed: 12,843,261. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Vera de Gyarfas. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 3,540,447. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Tarik Skeik. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 3,074,943. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Michael Mott. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,717,597. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Brent Wahl. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,494,822. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Brent Wahl PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Tarik Skeik RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Tarik Skeik PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Vera de Gyarfas RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Vera de Gyarfas PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Tarik Skeik PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Michael Mott RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Michael Mott PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Tarik Skeik PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Brent Wahl PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Brent Wahl RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Vera de Gyarfas PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Tarik Skeik RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Matthew Schatzman PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Matthew Schatzman PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Matthew Schatzman RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Michael Mott PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Tarik Skeik PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 53 : 1. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Sir Frank Chapman. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 254,995. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, L. Spencer Wells. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 244,995. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, William Vrattos. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 239,995. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Brian Belke. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 239,995. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Edward Andrew Scoggins. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 224,995. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Pamela Beall. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 95,980. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Diana Sands. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 95,980. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Avinash Kripalani. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, In Kyu Park. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Arnaud Lenail-Chouteau. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Giovanni Oddo. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Timothy Wyatt. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-06-03. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 83.25% (votes for as printed: 164,777,795). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-06-05. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 89.24% (votes for as printed: 189,733,968). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2024 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2024-06-03. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 95.59% (votes for as printed: 181,260,426). View filing ↗
  • Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
  • Section 03b vehicle mix (computed). Computed. RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).
  • Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 665,480 + equity 731,455 + all other 0 = 1,396,935, summed across the director compensation table rows.
  • Venture Global, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-08. CEO total compensation as printed in Venture Global, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 39,104,905. View filing ↗
  • Cheniere Energy, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-07. CEO total compensation as printed in Cheniere Energy, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 25,647,769. View filing ↗
  • Sempra, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. CEO total compensation as printed in Sempra's own proxy. As printed: 22,245,589. View filing ↗
  • NRG Energy, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-18. CEO total compensation as printed in NRG Energy, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 21,788,422. View filing ↗
  • Targa Resources Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-26. CEO total compensation as printed in Targa Resources Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 21,470,708. View filing ↗
  • Talen Energy Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-19. CEO total compensation as printed in Talen Energy Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 18,739,647. View filing ↗
  • Coterra Energy Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-20. CEO total compensation as printed in Coterra Energy Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 14,748,960. View filing ↗
  • APA Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-09. CEO total compensation as printed in APA Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 13,202,517. View filing ↗
  • NextDecade (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. CEO total compensation as printed in NextDecade's own proxy. As printed: 12,843,261. View filing ↗
  • DT Midstream, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-26. CEO total compensation as printed in DT Midstream, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 9,328,071. View filing ↗
  • Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,693,001. View filing ↗
  • Kinetik Holdings Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-08. CEO total compensation as printed in Kinetik Holdings Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,156,243. View filing ↗
Get the full report — $500