Legere gets a big payday as he leaves T-Mobile ready to take the 5G speed crown in the states

There is no denying that former T-Mobile CEO John Legere did an amazing job with T-Mobile, turning the carrier into the nation's fastest-growing and innovative wireless provider. Under his watch, T-Mobile introduced rollover minutes (Data Stash), zero-rated perks (Music Freedom), rewards programs (Netflix on Us, T-Mobile Tuesdays) and was the first major stateside wireless operator to do away with subsidizing phone purchases and two-year contracts. Last December it became the first U.S. wireless provider to launch nationwide 5G.

A couple of weeks before starting up its coast-to-coast 5G network, Legere announced that he was leaving T-Mobile on May 1, 2020. But when the company announced that it had completed its merger with Sprint on April 1st, he probably felt that it was the perfect time to step down, and so he did one month early. While we don't know where he will be heading next (wouldn't it be delicious if he ended up running Verizon or AT&T, the two rivals he often characterized as Dumb and Dumber?), the guy can write his own ticket. Granted, he doesn't look or act like your traditional CEO, but he does get results.

Back in November, there was speculation that Legere was being recruited for the top spot at WeWork by former Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, but nothing ever came of it. Last June, John was named the best CEO in the wireless industry by Glassdoor, a company that asks current and former employees to review the firms they work(ed) for. For Legere, that was the fifth consecutive year that he won the award as 99% of T-Mobile employees surveyed gave him a thumbs up. He also was named the fourth-best CEO in the overall ratings.

So now that John is in between jobs, we can assure you that there is no need to put up a Go Fund Me page for him. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Legere was mightily rewarded for completing the merger with Sprint. SEC documents show that he received $50.52 million in T-Mobile shares at a price of $85.13 per share. He now owns approximately 2.5 million shares valued at about $217 million. Not that we think he didn't earn it. No one gave the merger with Sprint a chance to make it past the FCC and the Justice Department (DOJ) when first announced on April 29th, 2018, yet he found a way to get it done..

And while we don't know John on a personal level, by following him closely for the last seven and a half years we can sense that his T-Mobile gig was more to him than just a high-paying job. Anyone who has watched him take the mickey out of a rival, make an Un-carrier announcement, announce nationwide 5G, or promote his own slow cooker videos could see that we enjoying himself and having fun. Look, not every executive cashing a nice paycheck is happy with his/her job. Legere was, and it showed.

Legere leaves quite a legacy with the work he did at T-Mobile and he walks away on his terms. If you were an early believer in the man, you could have walked away with a nice payout too. During Legere's time at T-Mobile, the company's shares soared from $10 to over $86 when he stepped down. More importantly, by completing the deal with Sprint, T-Mobile takes control of the carrier's 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum which will help it become the nation's 5G speed leader.

John's long time right-hand man Mike Sievert now gets to step into Legere's shoes. And in case you were wondering, Legere remains involved in T-Mobile as a member of the company's Board of Directors.