New Outback parent CEO leaves Delta after year, gets another signing bonus

A man in center of the photo puts a slider in his mouth as people at his table sip drinks and talk during dinner. In the background, there are mosaics of Australian animals like kangaroos and koalas. (Credit: Rafael Vilela—The Washington Post/Getty Images)

What’s better than receiving a signing bonus? Maybe getting a bigger one just over a year later. Delta gave Mike Spanos a $250,000 signing bonus to join the airline as its chief operating officer last June, but he’ll now get double that just by signing the dotted line to become CEO of Bloomin' Brands, the parent of Outback Steakhouse, in a move announced Monday.

All told, Spanos’s initial compensation package is valued at almost $12.3 million. That's over 1 million orders of the Bloomin’ Onion, Outback’s signature fried appetizer currently priced at $10.99.