Craig Knutson is Chief Executive Officer of MFA Financial, Inc. (MFA). The company reported total compensation of $7,079,634 for fiscal year 2025.
| Salary | $825,000 |
|---|---|
| Bonus | $555,500 |
| Stock awards | $4,080,011 |
| Option awards | — |
| Non-equity incentive plan | $1,605,123 |
| Pension and non-qualified deferred compensation | — |
| All other compensation | $14,000 |
| Total | $7,079,634 |
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed, without adjustment.
Cited to the compensation disclosure MFA Financial, Inc. filed April 17, 2026, accession 0001140361-26-015388.
| Fiscal year | Role | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Chief Executive Officer | $825,000 | $555,500 | $4,080,011 | — | $1,605,123 | — | $14,000 | $7,079,634 |
| FY2024 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | $800,000 | $500,000 | $4,000,017 | $0 | $2,767,350 | $0 | $13,800 | $8,081,167 |
| FY2023 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | $800,000 | $625,000 | $4,000,015 | $0 | $1,202,325 | $0 | $13,200 | $6,640,540 |
| FY2022 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | $800,000 | $750,000 | $3,200,032 | $0 | $1,500,000 | $0 | $12,200 | $6,262,232 |
| FY2021 | Chief Executive Officer and President | $800,000 | $750,000 | $2,850,004 | $0 | $3,000,000 | $0 | $11,600 | $7,411,604 |
| FY2020 | Chief Executive Officer and President | $800,000 | $1,100,000 | $2,668,552 | — | $0 | — | $11,400 | $4,579,952 |
| FY2019 | Chief Executive Officer and President | $700,000 | $533,911 | $2,701,570 | $0 | $1,404,764 | $0 | $11,200 | $5,351,445 |
Totals as disclosed in each year's own compensation disclosure for MFA Financial, Inc..
| Peer-group chief executive median | $5,785,279 |
|---|---|
| Difference from that median | $1,294,355 |
| Percentile within the disclosed peer group | 68th |
| Peers with a disclosed figure | 25 |
Medians and percentiles are computed across the peer group MFA Financial, Inc. discloses in its own compensation disclosure.
| Named executive officer | Role | FY2025 total |
|---|---|---|
| Craig Knutson this page | Chief Executive Officer | $7,079,634 |
| Bryan Wulfsohn | President and Chief Investment Officer | $4,419,509 |
| Michael Roper | Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | $2,210,024 |
| Harold Schwartz | Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary | $1,887,013 |
| Lori Samuels | Senior Vice President and Chief Loan Operations Officer | $1,579,018 |
The company's named executive officers for fiscal year 2025, and what it reported for each. See the full MFA Financial, Inc. compensation brief.
Craig Knutson's compensation sits inside MFA Financial, Inc.'s full executive and board picture — the peer group, pay against peers, incentive design and the board itself.