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MFA Financial Executive Compensation (FY25)

MFA · New York, NY · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2025
Data as of September 7, 2026Latest filing (8-K): June 4, 2026
251 figures on this page: 240 cited to the filing that reported them, 11 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations
Craig Knutson was paid $7,079,634 in total compensation as Chief Executive Officer for fiscal 2025, and Knutson's total moved 12.4% lower from the $8,081,167 reported for fiscal 2024. The disclosed chief executive pay ratio for fiscal 2025 is 69.2:1, against median employee compensation of $102,285. For fiscal 2025, the say-on-pay proposal drew 95.8% support at the meeting held June 3, 2026. The disclosed peer group names Advanced Flower Capital, Inc., Angel Oak Mortgage REIT Inc., Annaly Capital Management Inc., Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. and Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp., among others.
Chief executive, fiscal 2025
◇
Craig Knutson
Latest say-on-pay support
=
June 3, 2026
Chief executive pay ratio
◇
To the median employee
What changed from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025
The figures that moved, and by how much. Analysis of these figures is part of the Velarion platform.
Chief executive total compensation — Craig Knutson: $8,081,167 → $7,079,634 (12.4% lower)
CEO pay ratio: 84.9:1 → 69.2:1 (18.5% lower)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is MFA Financial's chief executive and what were they paid?
Craig Knutson was paid $7,079,634 in total compensation as Chief Executive Officer for fiscal 2025. Knutson's total moved 12.4% lower from the $8,081,167 reported for fiscal 2024.
What was MFA Financial's say-on-pay result?
For fiscal 2025, the say-on-pay proposal drew 95.8% support at the meeting held June 3, 2026.
Which companies are in MFA Financial's peer group?
The disclosed peer group names Advanced Flower Capital, Inc., Angel Oak Mortgage REIT Inc., Annaly Capital Management Inc., Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. and Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp., among others. The compensation benchmarking peer group includes AGNC Investment Corp., Arbor Realty Trust, Inc., BrightSpire Capital, Inc., Chimera Investment Corporation and Dynex Capital, Inc., among others.
What is MFA Financial's chief executive pay ratio?
The disclosed chief executive pay ratio for fiscal 2025 is 69.2:1, against median employee compensation of $102,285.

Executive compensation

Every element reported for each named executive officer, by fiscal year.
Fiscal 2022
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Craig Knutson
Chief Executive Officer and Director
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Gudmundur Kristjansson
Co-Chief Investment Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Bryan Wulfsohn
President and Chief Investment Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Harold Schwartz
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Craig Knutson
Chief Executive Officer and Director
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Bryan Wulfsohn
President and Chief Investment Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Gudmundur Kristjansson
Co-Chief Investment Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Harold Schwartz
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Michael Roper
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Craig Knutson
Chief Executive Officer and Director
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Gudmundur Kristjansson
Co-Chief Investment Officer
◇—◇———◇◇
Bryan Wulfsohn
President and Chief Investment Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Harold Schwartz
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Michael Roper
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Leigh Samuels
Senior Vice President and Chief Loan Operations Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Craig Knutson
Chief Executive Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Bryan Wulfsohn
President and Chief Investment Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Michael Roper
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇◇◇———◇◇
Harold Schwartz
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
◇◇◇———◇◇
Lori Samuels
Senior Vice President and Chief Loan Operations Officer
◇◇◇———◇◇
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. A negative change in pension value is shown but, as the company reports it, not included in the total.

Equity awards granted

Individual awards as disclosed: type, date, unit counts at each level, and grant date value.
Fiscal 2025
OfficerAwardGrant dateThreshold unitsTarget unitsUnits grantedMaximum unitsExercise priceGrant date fair value
Bryan WulfsohnRSU◇——◇——◇
Bryan WulfsohnRSU◇——◇——◇
Craig KnutsonRSU◇——◇——◇
Craig KnutsonRSU◇——◇——◇
Harold SchwartzRSU◇——◇——◇
Harold SchwartzRSU◇——◇——◇
Lori SamuelsRSU◇——◇——◇
Lori SamuelsRSU◇——◇——◇
Michael RoperRSU◇——◇——◇
Michael RoperRSU◇——◇——◇
Fiscal 2022, 2023, 2024 are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. Threshold, target and maximum apply only to performance awards and are never shown for time-based or option awards.

Outstanding awards

Awards still held at fiscal year end.
As disclosed at fiscal 2025 year end
OfficerAwardUnvested unitsMarket value of unvested unitsExercise priceExpires
M. RoperRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
C. KnutsonRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
L. SamuelsRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
H. SchwartzRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
B. WulfsohnRSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2025
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Laurie S. Goodman
Board chair
◇◇————◇
Robin Josephs
◇◇————◇
Lisa Polsky
◇◇————◇
Richard C. Wald
◇◇————◇
Christopher Small
◇◇————◇
Sheila A. Stamps
◇◇————◇
Craig L. Knutson served on the board in fiscal 2025 and received no compensation for board service. Executive directors are typically paid through their executive roles, shown above.
Earlier years are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director fee schedule

The standing retainers and premiums the board pays, as published.
Board cash retainer◇
Board equity retainer◇
Total board retainer◇
Audit committee chair◇
Compensation committee chair◇
Compensation committee member◇
Nominating and governance chair◇

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2025
  • Advanced Flower Capital, Inc. AFCG
  • Angel Oak Mortgage REIT Inc. AOMR
  • Annaly Capital Management Inc. NLY
  • Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. ARI
  • Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp. ACRE
  • Armour Residential REIT, Inc. ARR
  • Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. BXMT
  • Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. REFI
  • Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. CMTG
  • Ellington Financial, Inc. EFC
  • Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. FBRT
  • Granite Point Mortgage Trust GPMT
  • Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. IVR
  • KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, Inc. KREF
  • NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc. NREF
  • Orchid Island Capital, Inc. ORC
  • PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust PMT
  • Ready Capital Corp. RC
  • Rithm Capital Corp. RITM
  • Seven Hills Realty Trust SEVN
  • Starwood Property Trust, Inc. STWD
  • TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc. TRTX
  • Two Harbors Investment Corp. TWO
compensation benchmarking peer group
  • AGNC Investment Corp. AGNC
  • Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. ABR
  • BrightSpire Capital, Inc. BRSP
  • Chimera Investment Corporation CIM
  • Dynex Capital, Inc. DX
  • Ladder Capital Corp. LADR
  • Redwood Trust, Inc. RWT
  • Trinity Capital Inc. TRIN
  • Velocity Financial, Inc. VEL
  • Walker & Dunlop, Inc. WD

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2025June 3, 2026=◇◇◇
2024June 3, 2025=◇◇◇
2023June 4, 2024=◇◇◇
2022June 6, 2023=◇◇◇
2021June 7, 2022=◇◇◇
2020June 2, 2021=◇◇◇
2019June 10, 2020=◇◇◇
2018May 22, 2019=◇◇◇
2017May 23, 2018=◇◇◇
2016May 24, 2017=◇◇◇
2015May 25, 2016=◇◇◇

Chief executive pay ratio

As calculated and reported by the company.
Ratio
◇
Median employee compensation
◇
Chief executive total compensation
◇
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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact MFA Financial disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where MFA Financial sits against its disclosed peers — percentile position by role and by pay element, and the ranking behind it. The disclosed peer group is free; comparisons across it are part of the Velarion platform.
Executive Compensation Report — $1,500
Written compensation analysis
A read of the pay program as designed and as paid: incentive structure, goal rigor, the alignment between the committee's stated philosophy and what the numbers show.
Executive Compensation Report — $1,500
Board and governance analysis
Committee composition, independence, director pay positioning, and the governance provisions read together rather than listed.
Board Governance Report — $1,200
Realizable pay
What the awards above are actually worth today against what they were valued at on grant, and what the gap says about the pay-for-performance link.
Velarion Intelligence
Adviser switching and vote outcomes
Two datasets covering compensation-adviser changes and what followed a contested vote. Both are part of the Velarion platform.
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Citations

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
251 figures on this page: 240 cited to the filing that reported them, 11 calculated from figures it prints.
240 cited to the filing
11 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0001104659-26-070531
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  2. 0001140361-26-015388
    2025 Non-Employee Director Compensation · CEO Pay Ratio · Compensation of Non-Employee Directors · Grants of Plan-Based Awards · and 2 more sections
  3. 0001104659-25-056839
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  4. 0001140361-25-014577
    Summary Compensation Table
  5. 0001104659-24-069094
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  6. 0001140361-24-021047
    Summary Compensation Table
  7. 0001104659-23-069389
  8. 0001140361-23-019893
    Summary Compensation Table
  9. 0001104659-22-069667
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  10. 0001104659-21-077017
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  11. 0001104659-20-072975
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  12. 0001104659-19-031400
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  13. 0001104659-18-035630
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  14. 0001104659-17-035153
  15. 0001104659-16-123506
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
Cite this data
This page is free to cite. Attribution we ask for:
Velarion, “MFA Financial executive compensation, FY2022–FY2025.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/MFA (accessed 2026).
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Real Estate rankings

Chief executive pay — Real EstateCEO pay ratio — Real EstateSay-on-pay support — Real Estate

Peers MFA Financial discloses

The companies named in MFA's own disclosed peer group.

Angel Oak Mortgage REIT Inc.Annaly Capital Management Inc.Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc.Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp.Armour Residential REIT, Inc.Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc.Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc.Ellington Financial, Inc.Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc.Granite Point Mortgage TrustKKR Real Estate Finance Trust, Inc.NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc.PennyMac Mortgage Investment TrustReady Capital Corp.Rithm Capital Corp.Seven Hills Realty TrustStarwood Property Trust, Inc.TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc.Two Harbors Investment Corp.AGNC Investment Corp.Arbor Realty Trust, Inc.BrightSpire Capital, Inc.Chimera Investment CorporationDynex Capital, Inc.

Terms on this page

Say-on-Pay VoteCEO Pay RatioMedian Employee CompensationAll companies
Cite this data
APA
Velarion Company Intelligence. (2026). Velarion database: executive and board compensation data (Version 2026Q3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854
BibTeX
@misc{velarionData2026,
  author = {{Velarion Company Intelligence}},
  title = {Velarion database: executive and board compensation data},
  year = {2026},
  version = {2026Q3},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.22283854},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854}
}
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