UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Check the appropriate box:

GRAY TELEVISION, INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

N/A

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

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NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

Meeting to be held on May 5, 20212022

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Gray Television, Inc. will be held at 11:30 a.m., Eastern time, on May 5, 2021, virtually via2022, at the Internet at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/GTN2021,Company’s corporate headquarters, 4370 Peachtree Road, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30319, for the purpose of considering and acting upon:

1.         the election of teneleven members of Gray Television, Inc.’s Board of Directors;

2.         the approval of the Gray Television, Inc. 2022 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2022 Plan”);

3.         the ratification of the appointment of RSM US LLP as Gray Television, Inc.’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2021;2022; and

3.4.         such other business and matters or proposals as may properly come before the meeting.

Gray Television Inc.’s Board of Directors is committed to the safety of its shareholders, employees and communities. As a result, due to public health concerns arising from the continuing presence of COVID-19, Gray Television, Inc. will hold the Annual Meeting of Shareholders virtually via the Internet. Details on how to participate are included in the proxy statement, which accompanies this notice.

Only holders of record of Gray Television, Inc. common stock, no par value per share, and Gray Television, Inc. Class A common stock, no par value per share, at the close of business on March 5, 20214, 2022 are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the annual meeting. Attendance at the annual meeting is limited to such shareholders and to any invitees of Gray Television, Inc.

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be Held on May 5, 2021.2022.

The proxy statementProxy Statement and the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 20202021 are available at www.proxyvote.com.

Your vote is very important. Regardless of whether you plan to attend the annual meeting, we encourage you to vote as soon as possible by one of three convenient methods in order to ensure your shares are represented at the meeting: accessing the internet site listed on the notice of internet availability of proxy materials or proxy card, calling the toll-free number listed on the proxy card, or signing, dating and returning the proxy card in the enclosed postage-paid envelope. Any proxy you give will not be used if you attend the annual meeting and cast your vote virtuallyin person during the meeting.

Atlanta, Georgia

March 25, 20212022

GRAY TELEVISION, INC.
4370 Peachtree Road, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30319

PROXY STATEMENT
For Annual Meeting of Shareholders
to be Held on May 5, 20212022

This proxy statement is being furnished by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Gray Television, Inc., a Georgia corporation (which we refer to as “Gray,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”), to the holders of shares of each of our common stock, no par value per share (“common stock”), and our Class A common stock, no par value per share (“Class A common stock”), in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board for use at our 20212022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “2021“2022 Annual Meeting”) to be held virtually viaat the Internet at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/GTN2021, on May 5, 2021,Company’s corporate headquarters, 4370 Peachtree Road, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30319, at 11:30 a.m., Eastern time, and at any adjournments or postponements thereof. Our Board is committedFor directions to the safety of our shareholders, employees and communities. As a result, due to public health concerns arising from the continuing presencelocation of the novel coronavirus and its related disease (“COVID-19”), the Company decided to hold the 20212022 Annual Meeting, virtually via the Internet.you may contact our corporate offices at (404) 504-9828. Distribution to shareholders of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) and this proxy statement and a proxy card is scheduled to begin on or about March 25, 2021.2022.

A proxy delivered pursuant to this solicitation is revocable at the option of the person giving the same at any time before it is exercised. A proxy may be revoked, prior to its exercise, by submitting a later dated vote via the internet or by telephone, by signing and delivering a later dated proxy card, by delivering written notice of the revocation of the proxy to our Corporate Secretary prior to the 20212022 Annual Meeting, or by virtually attending and voting at the 20212022 Annual Meeting. Virtual attendanceAttendance at the 20212022 Annual Meeting, in and of itself, will not constitute revocation of a proxy. Unless previously revoked, the shares represented by proxy will be voted in accordance with the shareholder’s directions if the proxy is duly submitted prior to the 20212022 Annual Meeting.

If you return a signed proxy card that does not indicate your voting preferences, the persons named as proxies on the proxy card will vote your shares FOR the election of each of the director nominees recommended by the Board, FOR the approval of the 2022 Plan, FOR the ratification of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, and in accordance with the discretion of the named proxies on any other matters properly brought before the 20212022 Annual Meeting.

The expenses associated with this proxy statement and soliciting the proxies sought hereby will be borne by us. In addition to the use of the mail, proxies may be solicited by our officers, directors and employees, who will not receive additional compensation therefor, in person or by telephone or other means of electronic communication. We have retained D.F. King & Co., Inc. to assist with the solicitation of proxies for a fee of $6,000 plus reimbursement of out of pocket expenses. We will also request brokerage firms, banks, nominees, custodians and fiduciaries to forward proxy materials to the beneficial owners of shares of our common stock and our Class A common stock as of the record date for the 20212022 Annual Meeting, and will provide reimbursement for the cost of forwarding the proxy materials in accordance with customary practice. Your cooperation in promptly submitting your vote by proxy will help to avoid additional expense.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

GRAY TELEVISION, INC.
4370 Peachtree Road, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30319

VOTING MATTERS

Record Date and Voting Rights

Our Board has fixed the close of business on March 5, 20214, 2022 as the record date (the “Record Date”) for determining holders of our common stock and our Class A common stock entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the 20212022 Annual Meeting. Only holders of record of our common stock and/or our Class A common stock at the close of business on that date will be entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the 20212022 Annual Meeting. A list of stockholders as of the Record Date will be electronically available during the ten day period immediately prior to the 2021 Annual Meeting. To access the electronic shareholder list during this time, please send your request, and proof of ownership, by email to InvestorRelations@gray.tv. As of the record date, 88,220,20487,809,422 shares of our common stock and 7,171,0197,573,222 shares of our Class A common stock were outstanding. Each share of our common stock is entitled to one vote, and each share of our Class A common stock is entitled to ten votes, for each director nominee and each other matter to be acted upon at the 20212022 Annual Meeting. Cumulative voting for director nominees is not allowed.

Shareholders of record may vote:

Instructions for voting are included on the Notice or the proxy card.

You may revoke your proxy and change your vote by:

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the 20212022 Annual Meeting

The following information can be found at http://www.proxyvote.com:

Quorum

A quorum is necessary to hold a valid 20212022 Annual Meeting. A majority of all possible votes, or 79,965,19881,770,822 votes (including abstentions and broker non-votes (described below)), represented virtuallyin person or by proxy will constitute a quorum. Votes cast virtuallyin person or by proxy at the 20212022 Annual Meeting will be tabulated by the inspector of elections appointed for the meeting, who also will count such votes to determine whether a quorum is present for the transaction of business.

If a quorum is not present at the scheduled time of the 20212022 Annual Meeting, the chairman of the meeting may adjourn or postpone the 20212022 Annual Meeting until a quorum is present. The time and place of the adjourned or postponed 20212022 Annual Meeting will be announced at the time the adjournment is taken and, unless such adjournment or postponement is for more than 30 days, no other notice will be given. An adjournment or postponement will have no effect on the business that may be conducted at the 20212022 Annual Meeting.

Participation in the 2021 Annual Meeting; Questions at the Meeting

To participate, visit www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/GTN2021 and login with the control number included in your proxy materials. You may log into the annual meeting platform beginning at 11:15 a.m., Eastern Time, on May 5, 2021. The annual meeting will begin promptly at 11:30 a.m., Eastern Time. We encourage you to access the annual meeting platform prior to the start time. Participation in the 2021 Annual Meeting is limited to stockholders of record as of March 5, 2021 and guests will not be permitted to attend.

We have designed the format of the annual meeting to ensure that our stockholders are afforded the same rights and opportunities to participate as they would at an in-person meeting. After the business portion of the 2021 Annual Meeting concludes and the meeting is adjourned, we will hold a Q&A session during which we intend to answer questions submitted during the meeting that are pertinent to the meeting, as time permits, and in accordance with our Rules of Conduct of the 2021 Annual Meeting. On the day of and during the annual meeting, you can view our Rules of Conduct of the 2021 Annual Meeting and submit any questions by accessing www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/GTN2021.

Shares Held by a Bank, Broker or Other Nominee and Broker Non-Votes

If you are the beneficial owner of shares of common stock or Class A common stock held in “street name” by a bank, broker or other nominee, such other party is the record holder of the shares and is required to vote those shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give instructions to the record holder, that party will be prohibited from voting your shares on any matter other than with respect to the ratification of the appointment of RSM US LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2021.2022. If you do not provide instructions to the record holder, your shares will be treated as “broker non-votes” with respect to all other proposals voted on at the 20212022 Annual Meeting. Additionally, the record holder may elect not to vote your shares with respect to the ratification of our independent registered public accounting firm, in which case your shares would also be treated as “broker non-votes” with respect to that proposal. All “broker non-votes” will be included for purposes of calculating the presence of a quorum, but otherwise will be treated as shares not voted on a proposal.

Additionally, if you participate in our Capital Accumulation Plan (the “Capital Accumulation Plan”) and have contributions invested in the Company’s common stock as of the Record Date, your proxy card will also serve as a voting instruction card for the trustee under the Capital Accumulation Plan (the “Capital Accumulation Plan Trustee”). If you do not give instructions to the Capital Accumulation Plan Trustee, the Capital Accumulation Plan Trustee will be prohibited from voting your shares on any matter at the 20212022 Annual Meeting and your shares will not be included for purposes of calculating the presence of a quorum.

Required Vote

Director nominees will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast in person or by proxy at the 20212022 Annual Meeting, which means that the teneleven nominees receiving the most votes will be elected. Votes withheld from any nominee will have no effect on the outcome of the election of directors. Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as “votes cast” and, therefore, will have no effect on the outcome of the election of directors.

The approval of the 2022 Plan requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast in person or by proxy at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as “votes cast” and, therefore, will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal.

The ratification of the appointment of RSM US LLP as Gray’s independent registered public accounting firm for 20212022 requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast in person or by proxy at the 20212022 Annual Meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as “votes cast” and, therefore, will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal.

With respect to any other matter that may properly come before the 20212022 Annual Meeting for shareholder consideration, a matter generally will be approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast in person or by proxy at the 20212022 Annual Meeting unless the question is one upon which a different vote is required by express provision of the laws of Georgia, federal law, our Restated Articles of Incorporation (our “Articles”) or our Bylaws (our “Bylaws”), or, to the extent permitted by the laws of Georgia, the Board has expressly provided that some other vote shall be required, in which case such express provisions shall govern.

Board Recommendation

The Board recommends that you vote:

Unexecuted or Unclear Proxies

If you are a record holder and properly execute and return your proxy but do not indicate any voting instructions with respect to one or more matters to be voted upon at the 20212022 Annual Meeting, or if your voting instructions are unclear, your shares will be voted in accordance with the recommendation of the Board as to all such matters.

In such event, your shares will be voted FOR the election of all director nominees, FOR the approval of the 2022 Plan and FOR the ratification of the appointment of RSM US LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company for the year ending December 31, 2021,2022, as well as in the discretion of the persons named as proxies on all other matters that may properly come before the 20212022 Annual Meeting.

PROPOSAL 1
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Nominees

The terms of office of all current directors will expire at the 20212022 Annual Meeting. At the 20212022 Annual Meeting, teneleven directors are to be elected to hold office until our next annual meeting of shareholders and until their successors have been duly elected and qualified. The director nominees are all current directors who have been nominated for election by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Other than Sterling A. Spainhour, Jr.,Lorraine (“Lorri”) McClain, each nominee was elected by the shareholders at the Company’s most recent annual meeting. Mr. SpainhourMs. McClain was appointed to the Board effective on February 25, 2021.March 1, 2022.

In case any nominee listed in the table below should be unavailable for any reason, which we have no reason to anticipate, your proxy will be voted for any substitute nominee or nominees who may be selected by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee prior to or at the 20212022 Annual Meeting. Alternatively, if no substitute is selected by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee prior to or at the 20212022 Annual Meeting, the Board may determine to reduce the membership of the Board to the number of nominees available for election.

Set forth below is information concerning each of the nominees as of March 25, 2021:2022:

Hilton H. Howell, Jr. has served as our Chief Executive Officer since August 2008 and previously served as our President from June 2013 until January 2019. Mr. Howell, who is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board, has been a director since 1993 and served as the Vice Chairman of the Board from 2002 until April 2016 when he was appointed as Chairman and was appointed as Executive Chairman in January 2019. He served as our Executive Vice President from September 2002 to August 2008. He has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic American Corporation, an insurance holding company, since 1995, and as Chairman of that company since February 2009. He has been Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Delta Life Insurance Company and Delta Fire & Casualty Insurance Company since 1991. Mr. Howell also serves as a director of Atlantic American Corporation and of each of its subsidiaries, American Southern Insurance Company, American Safety Insurance Company and Bankers Fidelity Life Insurance Company, as well as a director of Delta Life Insurance Company and Delta Fire & Casualty Insurance Company. He is the husband of Robin R. Howell, who is a member of our Board. In addition to the detailed operational knowledge he has gained in his current role as Gray’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Howell brings to the Board experience from current and past leadership positions as an executive and his service on numerous boards. Mr. Howell also has practiced as an attorney in a variety of roles, which experience provides additional perspective to the matters within the purview of the Board.

Howell W. Newton has served as a director since 1991, and as Lead Independent Director since April 2016, and is Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of each of the Executive Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board. Since December 2015, Mr. Newton has been a Manager of 1899 Management Services, LLC, a real estate and investment company that assumed the assets of Trio Manufacturing Co., a real estate and investment company. Mr. Newton has also served, since October 1996, as Managing General Partner of Willwell LLLP, a family limited liability partnership that owns real estate and financial investments. From 1978 through December 2015, Mr. Newton was President and Treasurer of Trio Manufacturing Co. Mr. Newton’s many years of executive experience with a financial services company provides the Board with considerable financial expertise. His tenure on our Board provides consistent leadership, and his familiarity with Gray’s operations serves as an ongoing resource for issues facing a large, public company.

Richard L. Boger is the Chairman of the Compensation Committee and is also a member of the Executive Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Audit Committee of our Board. Mr. Boger has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Lex-Tek International, Inc., a financial services consulting company, since February 2002. He has also served, between July 2003 and July 2013, as business manager for Owen Holdings, LLLP; since July 2004, as General Partner of Shawnee Meadow Holdings, LLLP; and since March 2006, as business manager for Heathland Holdings, LLLP, each of which is an investment holding company. He has also served, since September 2012, as Trustee for the Boger-Owen Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit under the Internal Revenue Code. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of CornerCap Group of Funds, a line of mutual funds. Mr. Boger brings to the Board extensive managerial and entrepreneurial experience from his position as the Chief Executive Officer of a specialized financial services consulting company, his having founded and sold two commercial insurance services companies, and his service as a partner and business manager in multiple investment companies. His perspective from serving in several industries outside our own, including on the boards of a mutual fund and several nonprofit organizations, provides the Board with an informed resource for a wide range of disciplines and adds a diverse voice to its deliberations.

T.L. (“Gene”) Elder is a member of the Audit Committee of our Board. From 1994 to 2004, Mr. Elder was a partner of Tatum, LLC, a national firm of career chief financial officers, and served as a Senior Partner of that firm from 2004 until his retirement from that position in May 2009. Mr. Elder, through his background as a former Chief Financial Officer, provides the Board and the Audit Committee with significant financial and accounting expertise.

Luis A. Garcia is a member of the Compensation Committee of the Board. Mr. Garcia has been the President and Lead Strategist of MarketVision, a privately owned, strategic marketing firm focused on understanding diverse audiences, since 2008. Prior thereto, Mr. Garcia served as the managing director of Garcia 360°, an integrated marketing firm which he founded in 1998, until it merged with MarketVision in 2008. The Board believes Mr. Garcia’s entrepreneurial success and considerable strategic marketing experience provide valuable insight and expertise to the Board and allow him to substantively contribute to the vision and growth of the Company.

Richard B. Hare is the Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and is also a member of the Audit Committee of our Board. Mr. Hare has been the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc., a full service home furnishing retailer, since May 2017. He previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Carmike Cinemas, Inc., one of the largest motion picture exhibitors in the United States, from March 2006 until it was acquired by AMC Entertainment Holdings in December 2016. Prior thereto, Mr. Hare held a number of finance and accounting positions at various entities. Mr. Hare possesses a strong financial management and accounting background, as evidenced by the various senior financial positions held during his career, including his service as a senior vice president and chief financial officer of a public company, which deepen the financial and public company expertise of the Board.

Robin R. Howell has served as Vice President and a director of both Delta Life Insurance Company and Delta Fire & Casualty Company since 1992. She formerly served as Chairman of the Board of Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank and as a member of the Board of Directors of Premier Bancshares Inc. She received a BA in Economics from the University of Virginia and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin, and she has held a number of management and oversight roles in various businesses in which her family has maintained ownership interests since that time. Mrs. Howell is also a member of the board of directors of Atlantic American Corporation. Mrs. Howell is the wife of Mr. Howell. Mrs. Howell is active in the community, serving on the Board of Directors of the High Museum of Art as Chairman and member of the Executive Committee, as a member on the Board of Directors of the Forward Arts Foundation, and as a member of the Junior League of Atlanta. Mrs. Howell’s experience in board matters, and involvement at the executive level in various businesses is invaluable to the Board, and her numerous civic, social and academic associations provide valuable insight to the Company and elevate the Company’s profile in the community.

Donald P. (“Pat”) LaPlatney has served as a director and our President and Co-Chief Executive Officer since January 2019. Immediately prior to the joining the Company, Mr. LaPlatney served between July 2016 and January 2019 as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Raycom Media, Inc. (“Raycom”), a television broadcasting and media company acquired by the Company in January 2019. Mr. La PlatneyLaPlatney also served as a member of the board of directors of Raycom from 2016 until January 2019. Prior to that, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Raycom from April to July 2016, as Senior Vice President from 2012 to April 2016 and as Vice President, Digital Media from August 2007 to 2012. Before joining Raycom in 2007, Mr. LaPlatney held various executive positions at The Tube Media Corp., Westwood One and Raycom Sports. Additionally, Mr. LaPlatney serves as a board member of the National Association of Broadcasters and was previously the Chair of the NBC Affiliate Board. In addition to his operational knowledge in his current role as Gray’s President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Mr. LaPlatney brings to the Board significant leadership experience in executive roles at Gray and other broadcasting and media organizations, providing valuable insight to the Board and allowing him to contribute to its growth and operations.

Paul H. McTearLorraine (“Lorri”) McClain has served as a director since January 2019.March 2022. Ms. McClain is currently the President of Reicon Management, Inc., a family investment office. She previously served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Prestige Communications, Inc., a privately owned cable television operator that served customers in three Mid-Atlantic states, from 1993 to 1999, and as a General Manager of Prestige Cable TV, Inc. from 1992 to 1993. In addition, Ms. McClain is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Anverse Inc., a charitable foundation, a member of the Board of Directors of NSORO, a non-profit organization serving children aging out of foster care, and has long been active in non-profit charitable organizations and philanthropic activities. The Board believes Ms. McClain’s considerable executive and operational experience in the local media industry provides valuable industry-specific insight to the Board allowing her to contribute to its growth and operations, and her numerous philanthropic associations and activities provide valuable insight to the Company and elevate the Company’s profile in the community.

Paul H. McTear is a member of the Compensation Committee of the Board. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. McTear had served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Raycom from June 2001 until July 2016, and as a member of the board of directors of Raycom from June 2001 until January 2019. He joined Raycom in February 1997 and served as its Chief Financial Officer until he became Chief Executive Officer and President in 2001. Prior to joining Raycom, he served in a variety of executive officer positions at Providence Journal Company, including as Executive Director of Finance of Providence Journal Company’s Broadcasting and Cable Television Division. Mr. McTear was instrumental in the launch of two cable programming networks and has served as a member of the Television Board at the National Association of Broadcasters. The Board believes Mr. McTear’s considerable executive experience in the media and broadcasting space provides essential industry-specific knowledge and expertise to the Board in the regulatory environment in which the Company operates.

Sterling A. Spainhour, Jr. has served asis a director since February 2021.member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board. He has served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Georgia Power, the largest subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), one of the nation'snation’s leading energy providers, since July 2020. From December 2016 through June 2020 he served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Southern Company Services, where he led the legal organization that supports all of Southern Company'sCompany’s operating subsidiaries. Prior to joining Southern Company, he was a partner at Jones Day, a global law firm, where he practiced law specializing in mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance for over 20 years. The Board believes Mr. Spainhour’s broad experience counseling boards and senior management of publicly traded and private corporations regarding corporate governance, compliance, risk management, and transactional matters enables him to provide the Board an expansive perspective of the legal and business issues pertinent to the growth of the Company.

Board Composition

Certain highlights of our Board composition include the following:

NYSE Independence		Diversity			Tenure
NYSE Independent Nominees	Female
		2		0-4 Years	4
	Ethnic Diversity			5-9 Years	3
		2		10+ Years	4

The Board recommends a vote FOR each of the director nominees.

PROPOSAL 2

APPROVAL OF THE GRAY TELEVISION, INC.
2022 EQUITY AND INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN

We are asking shareholders to approve the 2022 Plan. On March 24, 2022, upon recommendation by the Compensation Committee, the Board unanimously approved and adopted, subject to the approval of the Company’s shareholders at the 2022 Annual Meeting, the 2022 Plan. The Board is recommending that the Company’s shareholders vote in favor of the 2022 Plan, which will succeed the Company’s 2017 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2017 Plan”). The 2017 Plan has shares remaining available for new awards as of the date of this proxy statement, but if the 2022 Plan is approved by our shareholders, no further grants will be made under the 2017 Plan. However, outstanding awards under the 2017 Plan will generally continue in effect in accordance with their terms.

The 2022 Plan will continue to afford the Compensation Committee the ability to design compensatory awards that are responsive to the Company’s needs and includes authorization for a variety of awards designed to advance the interests and long-term success of the Company by encouraging stock ownership among officers and other employees of the Company and its subsidiaries, certain consultants and other service providers to the Company and its subsidiaries, and non-employee directors of the Company.

Our principal reason for adopting the 2022 Plan is to obtain shareholder approval of shares of our common stock and our Class A common stock (collectively, “Stock”) available for awards under the 2022 Plan. Shareholder approval of the 2022 Plan would constitute approval of 5,500,000 new shares of common stock of the Company and 2,200,000 new shares of Class A common stock of the Company, plus the number of shares that remain available under the 2017 Plan as of the effective date of the 2022 Plan, to be available for awards under the 2022 Plan, as described below and in the 2022 Plan, with such amount subject to adjustment, including under the 2022 Plan’s share counting rules. If the 2022 Plan is approved by shareholders, it will be effective as of the day of the 2022 Annual Meeting. If the 2022 Plan is not approved by our shareholders, no awards will be made under the 2022 Plan, and the 2017 Plan will remain in effect.

The actual text of the 2022 Plan is attached to this Proxy Statement as Appendix A. The following description of the 2022 Plan is only a summary of its principal terms and provisions and is qualified by reference to the actual text as set forth in Appendix A.

Why We Believe You Should Vote for this Proposal

The 2022 Plan authorizes the Compensation Committee to provide cash awards and equity-based compensation in the form of stock options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance shares, performance units, dividend equivalents and certain other awards, including those denominated or payable in, or otherwise based on, shares of Stock, as well as cash incentive awards, for the purpose of providing our non-employee directors, as well as officers, employees, and certain consultants and other service providers of the Company and its subsidiaries, incentives and rewards for service and/or performance. Some of the key features of the 2022 Plan that reflect our commitment to effective management of equity and incentive compensation are set forth below in this subsection.

We believe our future success depends in part on our ability to attract, motivate, and retain high quality employees and directors and that the ability to provide equity-based and incentive-based awards under the 2022 Plan is critical to achieving this success. We would be at a severe competitive disadvantage if we could not use share-based awards to recruit and compensate our employees and directors.

The use of shares of our Stock as part of our compensation program is also important because equity-based awards are an essential component of our compensation for key employees, as they help link compensation with long-term shareholder value creation and reward participants based on service and/or performance. Our equity compensation program also helps us to attract and retain talent in a highly competitive market, targeting individuals who are motivated by pay-for-performance.

As of December 31, 2021, 2,255,213 shares of our common stock and 847,522 shares of our Class A common stock remained available for issuance under the 2017 Plan. If the 2022 Plan is not approved, we may be compelled to increase significantly the cash component of our employee and director compensation, which approach may not necessarily align employee and director compensation interests with the investment interests of our shareholders. Replacing equity awards with cash also would increase cash compensation expense and use cash that could be better utilized.

The following includes aggregated information regarding our view of the overhang and dilution associated with the 2017 Plan and the potential shareholder dilution that would result if our proposed share authorization under the 2022 Plan is approved. The information below is as of December 31, 2021. As of that date, there were 87,539,056 shares of our common stock and 7,426,512 shares of our Class A common stock outstanding.

Under our 2017 Plan:

Common Stock

Class A Common Stock

Under the 2022 Plan:

Total potential overhang or dilution under the 2022 Plan:

Based on the closing price on the New York Stock Exchange for our shares of common stock on March 4, 2022 of $22.81 per share, the aggregate market value as of March 4, 2022 of the new 5,500,000 shares of common stock requested under the 2022 Plan was $125,455,000. Based on the closing price on the New York Stock Exchange for our shares of Class A common stock on March 4, 2022 of $22.99 per share, the aggregate market value as of March 4, 2022 of the new 2,200,000 shares of Class A common stock requested under the 2022 Plan was $50,578,000.

In fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021, we granted awards under the 2017 Plan covering 1,349,273 shares of Stock, 619,479 shares of Stock, and 1,315,407 shares of Stock, respectively. Based on our basic weighted average of shares of Stock outstanding for those three years of 99,421,130, 96,197,073 and 94,514,569, respectively, for the three-fiscal-year period 2019-2021, our average burn rate, not taking into account forfeitures, was approximately 1.1% (our individual years’ burn rates were 1.4% for fiscal 2019, 0.6% for fiscal 2020, and 1.4% for fiscal 2021).

In determining the number of shares to request for approval under the 2022 Plan, our management team worked with our outside advisors and the Compensation Committee to evaluate a number of factors, including our recent share usage and criteria expected to be utilized by institutional proxy advisory firms in evaluating our proposal for the 2022 Plan.

If the 2022 Plan is approved, we intend to utilize the shares authorized under the 2022 Plan to continue our practice of incentivizing key individuals through equity grants. We currently anticipate that the shares requested in connection with the approval of the 2022 Plan will last for about five or six years, based on our historic grant rates and the approximate current share price, but could last for a different period of time if actual practice does not match recent rates or our share price changes materially. As noted below, our Compensation Committee retains full discretion under the 2022 Plan to determine the number and amount of awards to be granted under the 2022 Plan, subject to the terms of the 2022 Plan, and future benefits that may be received by participants under the 2022 Plan are not determinable at this time.

We believe that we have demonstrated a commitment to sound equity compensation practices in recent years. We recognize that equity compensation awards dilute shareholders’ equity, so we have carefully managed our equity incentive compensation. Our equity compensation practices are intended to be competitive and consistent with market practices, and we believe our historical share usage has been responsible and mindful of shareholder interests, as described above.

In evaluating this proposal, shareholders should consider all of the information in this proposal.

2022 Plan Highlights

Below are certain highlights of the 2022 Plan. These features of the 2022 Plan are designed to reinforce alignment between equity compensation arrangements awarded pursuant to the 2022 Plan and shareholders’ interests, consistent with sound corporate governance practices:

Reasonable 2022 Plan Limits. Shares of common stock and Class A common stock are available for issuance under the 2022 Plan.

Common Stock: Generally (and subject to adjustment as described in the 2022 Plan), total awards under the 2022 Plan are limited to 5,500,000 shares of common stock, plus the total number of shares of common stock remaining available under the 2017 Plan as of the effective date of the 2022 Plan, plus the number of shares of common stock that are added (or added back, as applicable) to the aggregate number of shares of common stock available under the 2022 Plan pursuant to the share counting rules of the 2022 Plan (as described below). These shares of common stock may be shares of original issuance or treasury shares or a combination of the two.

Class A Common Stock: Generally (and subject to adjustment as described in the 2022 Plan), total awards under the 2022 Plan are limited to 2,200,000 shares of Class A common stock, plus the total number of shares of Class A common stock remaining available under the 2017 Plan as of the effective date of the 2022 Plan, plus the number of shares of Class A common stock that are added (or added back, as applicable) to the aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock available under the 2022 Plan pursuant to the share counting rules of the 2022 Plan (as described below). These shares of Class A Common stock may be shares of original issuance or treasury shares or a combination of the two.

Non-Employee Director Compensation Limit. The 2022 Plan provides that in no event will any non-employee director in any one calendar year be granted compensation for such service having an aggregate maximum value (measured at the date of grant, as applicable, and calculating the value of any awards based on the grant date fair value for financial reporting purposes) in excess of $750,000.

Incentive Stock Option Limit. The 2022 Plan also provides that, subject as applicable to adjustment as described in the 2022 Plan, the aggregate number of shares of Stock actually issued or transferred upon the exercise of Incentive Stock Options (as defined below) will not exceed 5,500,000 shares of common stock and 2,200,000 shares of Class A common stock.

Allowances for Conversion Awards and Assumed Plans. Shares of Stock issued or transferred under awards granted under the 2022 Plan in substitution for or conversion of, or in connection with an assumption of, stock options, SARs, restricted stock, RSUs or other stock or stock-based awards held by awardees of an entity engaging in a corporate acquisition or merger transaction with us or any of our subsidiaries will not count against (or be added to) the aggregate share limits or other 2022 Plan limits described above. Additionally, shares available under certain plans that we or our subsidiaries may assume in connection with corporate transactions from another entity may be available for certain awards under the 2022 Plan, under circumstances further described in the 2022 Plan, but will not count against the aggregate share limits or other 2022 Plan limits described above.

Limited Share Recycling Provisions. Subject to certain exceptions described in the 2022 Plan, if any award granted under the 2022 Plan (in whole or in part) is canceled or forfeited, expires or is settled for cash, or is unearned, the shares of Stock subject to such award will, to the extent of such cancellation, forfeiture, expiration, cash settlement, or unearned amount, again be available under the 2022 Plan. Additionally, if after the effective date of the 2022 Plan, any shares of Stock subject to an award granted under the 2017 Plan are forfeited, or an award granted under the 2017 Plan (in whole or in part) is canceled or forfeited, expires, is settled in cash, or is unearned, the shares of Stock subject to such award will, to the extent of such cancellation, forfeiture, expiration, cash settlement, or unearned amount, be available for awards under the 2022 Plan.

Notwithstanding anything else in the 2022 Plan, the following shares of Stock will not be added (or added back, as applicable) to the aggregate number of shares of Stock available under the 2022 Plan:

Further, if a participant elects to give up the right to receive compensation in exchange for shares of Stock based on fair market value, such shares of Stock will not count against the aggregate number of shares available under the 2022 Plan.

No Repricing Without Shareholder Approval. Outside of certain corporate transactions or adjustment events described in the 2022 Plan or in connection with a “change in control,” the exercise price or base price of stock options and SARs cannot be reduced, nor can “underwater” stock options or SARs be cancelled in exchange for cash or replaced with other awards with a lower exercise or base price, without shareholder approval under the 2022 Plan.

Change in Control Definition. The 2022 Plan includes a non-liberal definition of “change in control,” which is described below.

Clawback Provisions. The 2022 Plan provides that awards under the 2022 Plan may be made subject to a clawback policy of the Company or otherwise provide for recoupment by the Company in the event that a grantee engages in detrimental activity, as provided in the documents governing the awards or the applicable clawback policy.

Other Features. The 2022 Plan also provides that, except with respect to certain converted, assumed or substituted awards as described in the 2022 Plan, no stock options or SARs will be granted with an exercise or base price less than the fair market value of a share our of Stock on the date of grant.

Summary of Other Material Terms of the 2022 Plan

Administration. The 2022 Plan will generally be administered by the Compensation Committee (or its successor), or any other committee of the Board designated by the Board to administer the 2022 Plan. References to the “Committee” in this proposal refer to the Compensation Committee or such other committee designated by the Board, as applicable. The Committee may from time to time delegate all or any part of its authority under the 2022 Plan to a subcommittee. Any interpretation, construction and determination by the Committee of any provision of the 2022 Plan, or of any agreement, notification or document evidencing the grant of awards under the 2022 Plan, will be final and conclusive. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Committee may delegate to one or more of its members or to one or more officers, or to one or more agents or advisors of the Company, such administrative duties or powers as it deems advisable. In addition, the Committee may by resolution, subject to certain restrictions set forth in the 2022 Plan, authorize one or more officers of the Company to (1) designate employees to be recipients of awards under the 2022 Plan, and (2) determine the size of such awards. However, the Committee may not delegate such responsibilities to officers for awards granted to non-employee directors or certain employees who are subject to the reporting requirements of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Eligibility. Any person who is selected by the Committee to receive benefits under the 2022 Plan and who is at that time an officer or other employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (including a person who has agreed to commence serving in such capacity within 90 days of the date of grant) is eligible to participate in the 2022 Plan. In addition, certain persons (including consultants) who provide services to the Company or any of its subsidiaries that are equivalent to those typically provided by an employee (provided that such persons satisfy the Form S-8 definition of “employee”), and non-employee directors of the Company, may also be selected by the Committee to participate in the 2022 Plan. As of March 4, 2022, the Company and its subsidiaries had approximately 9,000 employees, and the Company had nine non-employee directors. Although consultants of the Company and its subsidiaries are also eligible to participate in the 2022 Plan, we have not granted equity awards to consultants in recent years and do not have a current estimate of how many such consultants may be eligible in the future to participate in the 2022 Plan. We do not currently expect to make material grants of awards under the 2022 Plan to consultants. The basis for participation in the 2022 Plan by eligible persons is the selection of such persons by the Committee (or its authorized delegate) in its discretion.

Types of Awards Under the 2022 Plan. Pursuant to the 2022 Plan, the Company may grant stock options (including stock options intended to be “incentive stock options” as defined in Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) (such stock options, “Incentive Stock Options”)), SARs, restricted stock, RSUs, performance shares, performance units, cash incentive awards, and certain other awards based on or related to shares of our Stock.

Generally, each grant of an award under the 2022 Plan will be evidenced by an award agreement, certificate, resolution or other type or form of writing or other evidence approved by the Committee (an “Evidence of Award”), which will contain such terms and provisions as the Committee may determine, consistent with the 2022 Plan. If applicable, each Evidence of Award must specify whether the shares subject to the award are shares of common stock or shares of Class A common stock. A brief description of the types of awards which may be granted under the 2022 Plan is set forth below.

Stock Options. A stock option is a right to purchase shares of Stock upon exercise of the stock option. Stock options granted to an employee under the 2022 Plan may consist of either an Incentive Stock Option, a non-qualified stock option that is not intended to be an “incentive stock option” under Section 422 of the Code, or a combination of both. Incentive Stock Options may only be granted to employees of the Company or certain of our related corporations. Except with respect to awards issued in substitution for, in conversion of, or in connection with an assumption of stock options held by awardees of an entity engaging in a corporate acquisition or merger with us or any of our subsidiaries, Incentive Stock Options and non-qualified stock options must have an exercise price per share that is not less than the fair market value of a share of Stock on the date of grant. The term of a stock option may not extend more than ten years after the date of grant. The Committee may provide in an Evidence of Award for the automatic exercise of a stock option.

Each grant of a stock option will specify the applicable terms of the stock option, including the number and class of shares of Stock subject to the stock option and the required period or periods of the participant’s continuous service, if any, before any stock option or portion of a stock option will vest. Stock options may provide for continued vesting or the earlier vesting of such stock options, including in the event of the retirement, death, disability, or termination of employment or service of a participant or in the event of a change in control.

Any grant of stock options may specify management objectives regarding the vesting of the stock options. Each grant will specify whether the consideration to be paid in satisfaction of the exercise price will be payable: (1) in cash, by check acceptable to the Company, or by wire transfer of immediately available funds; (2) by the actual or constructive transfer to the Company of shares of Stock owned by the participant with a value at the time of exercise that is equal to the total exercise price; (3) subject to any conditions or limitations established by the Committee, by a net exercise arrangement pursuant to which the Company will withhold shares of Stock otherwise issuable upon exercise of a stock option; (4) by a combination of the foregoing methods; or (5) by such other methods as may be approved by the Committee. To the extent permitted by law, any grant may provide for deferred payment of the exercise price from the proceeds of a sale through a bank or broker of some or all of the shares to which the exercise relates. Stock options granted under the 2022 Plan may not provide for dividends or dividend equivalents.

SARs. The Committee may, from time to time and upon such terms and conditions as it may determine, authorize the granting of SARs. A SAR right is a right to receive from us an amount equal to 100%, or such lesser percentage as the Committee may determine, of the spread between the base price and the value of shares of our Stock on the date of exercise.

Each grant of SARs will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award that will specify the class of Stock subject to the SAR. Each Evidence of Award will be subject to the 2022 Plan and will contain such other terms and provisions, consistent with the 2022 Plan, as the Committee may approve. Each grant of SARs will specify the period or periods of continuous service, if any, by the participant with the Company or any subsidiary that is necessary before the SARs or installments of such SARs will vest. SARs may provide for continued vesting or the earlier vesting of such SARs, including in the event of the retirement, death, disability, or termination of employment or service of a participant or in the event of a change in control. Any grant of SARs may specify management objectives regarding the vesting of such SARs. A SAR may be paid in cash, shares of Stock or any combination of the two.

Except with respect to awards issued in substitution for, in conversion of, or in connection with an assumption of SARs held by awardees of an entity engaging in a corporate acquisition or merger with us or any of our subsidiaries, the base price of a SAR may not be less than the fair market value of a share of Stock on the date of grant. The term of a SAR may not extend more than ten years from the date of grant. The Committee may provide in an Evidence of Award for the automatic exercise of a SAR. SARs granted under the 2022 Plan may not provide for dividends or dividend equivalents.

Restricted Stock. Restricted stock constitutes an immediate transfer of the ownership of shares of Stock to the participant in consideration of the performance of services, entitling such participant to dividend, voting and other ownership rights, subject to the substantial risk of forfeiture and restrictions on transfer determined by the Committee for a period of time determined by the Committee or until certain management objectives specified by the Committee are achieved. Each such grant or sale of restricted stock may be made without additional consideration or in consideration of a payment by the participant that is less than the fair market value per share of Stock on the date of grant.

Any grant of restricted stock may specify management objectives regarding the vesting of the restricted stock. Any grant of restricted stock will require that any and all dividends or distributions paid on restricted stock that remain subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture be automatically deferred and/or reinvested in additional restricted stock, which will be subject to the same restrictions as the underlying restricted stock. Any such dividends or other distributions on restricted stock will be deferred until, and paid contingent upon, the vesting of such restricted stock. Each grant of restricted stock will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award that will specify the class of Stock subject to the award. Each Evidence of Award will be subject to the 2022 Plan and will contain such terms and provisions, consistent with the 2022 Plan, as the Committee may approve.

Restricted stock may provide for continued vesting or the earlier vesting of such restricted stock, including in the event of the retirement, death, disability, or termination of employment or service of a participant or in the event of a change in control.

RSUs. RSUs awarded under the 2022 Plan constitute an agreement by the Company to deliver shares of Stock, cash, or a combination of the two, to the participant in the future in consideration of the performance of services, but subject to the fulfillment of such conditions (which may include achievement regarding management objectives) during the restriction period as the Committee may specify. Each grant or sale of RSUs may be made without additional consideration or in consideration of a payment by the participant that is less than the fair market value of shares of our Stock on the date of grant.

RSUs may provide for continued vesting or the earlier lapse or other modification of the restriction period, including in the event of the retirement, death, disability, or termination of employment or service of a participant or in the event of a change in control.

During the restriction period applicable to RSUs, the participant will have no right to transfer any rights under the award and will have no rights of ownership in the shares of Stock deliverable upon payment of the RSUs and no right to vote them. Rights to dividend equivalents may be extended to and made part of any RSU award at the discretion of and on the terms determined by the Committee, on a deferred and contingent basis, either in cash or in additional shares of Stock, but dividend equivalents or other distributions on shares of Stock under the RSUs will be deferred until and paid contingent upon vesting of such RSUs. Each grant or sale of RSUs will specify the time and manner of payment of the RSUs that have been earned. An RSU may be paid in cash, shares of Stock or any combination of the two.

Each grant of an RSU award will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award that will specify the class of Stock subject to the RSU award. Each Evidence of Award will be subject to the 2022 Plan and will contain such terms and provisions, consistent with the 2022 Plan, as the Committee may approve.

Performance Shares, Performance Units, and Cash Incentive Awards. Performance shares, performance units and cash incentive awards may also be granted to participants under the 2022 Plan. A performance share is a bookkeeping entry that records the equivalent of one share of Stock, and a performance unit is a bookkeeping entry that records a unit equivalent to $1.00 or such other value as determined by the Committee. Each grant will specify the number or amount of performance shares or performance units, or the amount payable with respect to a cash incentive award being awarded, which number or amount may be subject to adjustment to reflect changes in compensation or other factors.

Each grant of a cash incentive award, performance shares or performance units will specify management objectives regarding the earning of the award.

The performance period with respect to each cash incentive award or grant of performance shares or performance units will be a period of time determined by the Committee and within which the management objectives relating to such award are to be achieved, and the Evidence of Award may specify the time and terms of delivery. The award may be subject to continued vesting or earlier lapse or other modification, including in the event of the retirement, death, disability, or termination of employment or service of a participant or in the event of a change in control.

Each grant of performance shares, performance units or a cash incentive award will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award that will specify the time and manner of payment of such award and, if applicable, will specify the class of Stock subject to the award or to which the award relates. Any grant may specify that the amount payable with respect thereto may be paid by the Company in cash, in shares of Stock, in restricted stock or RSUs or in any combination thereof. Each Evidence of Award will be subject to the 2022 Plan and will contain such other terms and provisions of such award, consistent with the 2022 Plan, as the Committee may approve.

Any grant of performance shares or performance units may provide for the payment of dividend equivalents in cash or in additional shares of Stock, which dividend equivalents will be subject in all cases to deferral and payment on a contingent basis based on the participant’s earning and vesting of the performance shares or performance units, as applicable, with respect to which such dividend equivalents are paid.

Other Awards. Subject to applicable law and applicable share limits under the 2022 Plan, the Committee may authorize the grant to any participant of shares of Stock or such other awards (“Other Awards”) that may be denominated or payable in, valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, or related to, shares of Stock or factors that may influence the value of such shares of Stock, including, without limitation, convertible or exchangeable debt securities, other rights convertible or exchangeable into shares of Stock, purchase rights for shares of Stock, awards with value and payment contingent upon performance of the Company or specified subsidiaries, affiliates or other business units or any other factors designated by the Committee, and awards valued by reference to the book value of the shares of Stock or the value of securities of, or the performance of the specified subsidiaries, affiliates or other business units of the Company. The Committee will determine the terms and conditions of any such awards and will specify the class of Stock subject to the awards or to which the awards relate. Shares of Stock delivered under an award in the nature of a purchase right granted under the 2022 Plan will be purchased for such consideration, paid for at such time, by such methods, and in such forms, including, without limitation, shares of Stock, other awards, notes or other property, as the Committee determines.

In addition, the Committee may grant cash awards, as an element of or supplement to any other awards granted under the 2022 Plan. The Committee may also authorize the grant of shares of Stock as a bonus, or may authorize the grant of other awards in lieu of obligations of the Company or a subsidiary to pay cash or deliver other property under the 2022 Plan or under other plans or compensatory arrangements, subject to terms determined by the Committee in a manner than complies with Section 409A of the Code.

Other Awards may provide for the earning or vesting of, or earlier elimination of restrictions applicable to, such award, including in the event of the retirement, death, disability, or termination of employment or service of a participant or in the event of a change in control. The Committee may provide for the payment of dividends or dividend equivalents on Other Awards in cash or in additional shares of Stock. However, dividend equivalents or other distributions on shares of Stock underlying Other Awards will be deferred until, and paid contingent upon, the earning and vesting of such awards.

Change in Control. The 2022 Plan includes a definition of “change in control.” In general, except as may be otherwise prescribed by the Committee in an Evidence of Award, a change in control will be deemed to have occurred if (subject to certain exceptions and limitations and as further described in the 2022 Plan): (1) a person or group becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the total voting power represented by the outstanding voting stock of the Company, excluding acquisitions directly from or by the Company, by any employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by the Company or certain affiliates, or by certain “permitted holders” (as defined in the 2022 Plan); (2) during any period of two consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constituted the Board cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board, unless their replacements are approved as described in the 2022 Plan (subject to certain exceptions); (3) the Company closes a merger, or sells, assigns, conveys, transfers, leases or otherwise disposes of all or substantially all of its assets to any person, in any such event pursuant to a transaction in which the outstanding voting stock of the Company is converted into or exchanged for cash, securities or other property, other than any transaction where the outstanding voting stock of the Company is converted into or exchanged for voting stock of the surviving or transferee corporation and immediately after such transaction, no person or group, other than the permitted holders, is the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the total voting power represented by the outstanding voting stock of the surviving or transferee corporation; or (4) the Company’s shareholders approve its complete liquidation or dissolution.

Management Objectives. The 2022 Plan generally provides that any of the awards set forth above may be granted subject to the achievement of specified management objectives.

Management objectives are defined as the measurable performance objective or objectives established pursuant to the 2022 Plan for participants who have received grants of performance shares, performance units or cash incentive awards or, when so determined by the Committee, stock options, SARs, restricted stock, RSUs, dividend equivalents or Other Awards.

Additionally, if the Committee determines that a change in the business, operations, corporate structure or capital structure of the Company, or the manner in which it conducts its business, or other events or circumstances render the management objectives unsuitable, the Committee may in its discretion modify such management objectives or the goals or actual levels of achievement regarding the management objectives, in whole or in part, as the Committee deems appropriate and equitable.

The management objectives applicable to an award under the 2022 Plan, if any, shall be determined by the Committee, and may be based on one or more, or a combination, of metrics under the following categories or such other metrics as may be determined by the Committee (including relative or growth achievement regarding such metrics):

Transferability of Awards. Except as otherwise provided by the Committee, and subject to the terms of the 2022 Plan with respect to Section 409A of the Code, no stock option, SAR, restricted stock, RSU, performance share, performance unit, cash incentive award, Other Award or dividend equivalents paid with respect to awards made under the 2022 Plan will be transferrable by a participant except by will or the laws of descent and distribution. In no event will any such award granted under the 2022 Plan be transferred for value. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee, stock options and SARs will be exercisable during the participant’s lifetime only by him or her or, in the event of the participant’s legal incapacity to do so, by his or her guardian or legal representative acting on behalf of the participant in a fiduciary capacity under state law or court supervision.

The Committee may specify on the grant date that all or part of the shares of Stock that are subject to awards under the 2022 Plan will be subject to further restrictions on transfer.

Adjustments; Corporate Transactions. The Committee will make or provide for such adjustments in: (1) the number of and kind of shares of Stock covered by outstanding stock options, SARs, restricted stock, RSUs, performance shares and performance units granted under the 2022 Plan; (2) if applicable, the number of and kind of shares of Stock covered by Other Awards granted pursuant to the 2022 Plan; (3) the exercise price or base price provided in outstanding stock options and SARs, respectively; (4) cash incentive awards; and (5) other award terms, as the Committee in its sole discretion, exercised in good faith determines to be equitably required in order to prevent dilution or enlargement of the rights of participants that otherwise would result from (a) any extraordinary cash dividend, stock dividend, stock split, combination of shares, recapitalization or other change in the capital structure of the Company; (b) any merger, consolidation, spin-off, spin-out, split-off, split-up, reorganization, partial or complete liquidation or other distribution of assets, issuance of rights or warrants to purchase securities; or (c) any other corporate transaction or event having an effect similar to any of the foregoing.

In the event of any such transaction or event, or in the event of a change in control of the Company, the Committee may provide in substitution for any or all outstanding awards under the 2022 Plan such alternative consideration (including cash), if any, as it may in good faith determine to be equitable under the circumstances and will require in connection therewith the surrender of all awards so replaced in a manner that complies with Section 409A of the Code. In addition, for each stock option or SAR with an exercise price or base price, respectively, greater than the consideration offered in connection with any such transaction or event or change in control of the Company, the Committee may in its discretion elect to cancel such stock option SAR without any payment to the person holding such stock option or SAR. The Committee will make or provide for such adjustments to the number of shares of Stock available for issuance under the 2022 Plan and the share limits of the 2022 Plan as the Committee in its sole discretion, exercised in good faith, determines to be appropriate in connection with such transaction or event. However, any adjustment to the limit on the number of shares of Stock that may be issued upon exercise of Incentive Stock Options will be made only if and to the extent such adjustment would not cause any stock option intended to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option to fail to so qualify.

Prohibition on Repricing. Except in connection with certain corporate transactions or changes in the capital structure of the Company or in connection with a change in control, the terms of outstanding awards may not be amended to (1) reduce the exercise price or base price of outstanding stock options or SARs, respectively, or (2) cancel outstanding “underwater” stock options or SARs (including following a Participant’s voluntary surrender of “underwater” stock options or SARs) in exchange for cash, Other Awards or stock options or SARs with an exercise price or base price, as applicable, that is less than the exercise price or base price of the original stock options or SARs, as applicable, without shareholder approval. The 2022 Plan specifically provides that this provision is intended to prohibit the repricing of “underwater” stock options and SARs and that it may not be amended without approval by our shareholders.

Detrimental Activity and Recapture. Any Evidence of Award may reference a clawback policy of the Company or provide for the cancellation or forfeiture of an award or the forfeiture and repayment to us of any gain related to an award, or other provisions intended to have a similar effect, upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Committee from time to time, if any participant, either during employment or other service with us or a subsidiary or within a specified period after such employment or service, engages in any detrimental activity, as described in the applicable Evidence of Award or such clawback policy. In addition, any Evidence of Award or such clawback policy may provide for cancellation or forfeiture of an award or the forfeiture and repayment of any shares of Stock issued under and/or any other benefit related to an award, or other provisions intended to have a similar effect, including upon such terms and conditions as may be required by the Committee or under Section 10D of the Exchange Act and any applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission or any national securities exchange or national securities association on which the shares of Stock may be traded.

Grants to Non-U.S. Based Participants. In order to facilitate the making of any grant or combination of grants under the 2022 Plan, the Committee may provide for such special terms for awards to participants who are foreign nationals, who are employed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries outside of the United States of America or who provide services to the Company or any of its subsidiaries under an agreement with a foreign nation or agency, as the Committee may consider necessary or appropriate to accommodate differences in local law, tax policy or custom. The Committee may approve such supplements to, or amendments, restatements or alternative versions of, the 2022 Plan (including sub-plans) (to be considered part of the 2022 Plan) as it may consider necessary or appropriate for such purposes, provided that no such special terms, supplements, amendments or restatements will include any provisions that are inconsistent with the terms of the 2022 Plan as then in effect unless the 2022 Plan could have been amended to eliminate such inconsistency without further approval by our shareholders.

Withholding. To the extent the Company is required to withhold federal, state, local or foreign taxes or other amounts in connection with any payment made or benefit realized by a participant or other person under the 2022 Plan, and the amounts available to us for such withholding are insufficient, it will be a condition to the receipt of such payment or the realization of such benefit that the participant or such other person make arrangements satisfactory to the Company for payment of the balance of such taxes or other amounts required to be withheld, which arrangements, in the discretion of the Committee, may include relinquishment of a portion of such benefit. If a participant’s benefit is to be received in the form of shares of Stock, and such participant fails to make arrangements for the payment of taxes or other amounts, then, unless otherwise determined by the Committee, we will withhold shares of Stock having a value equal to the amount required to be withheld. When a participant is required to pay the Company an amount required to be withheld under applicable income, employment, tax or other laws, the Committee may require the participant to satisfy the obligation, in whole or in part, by having withheld, from the shares delivered or required to be delivered to the participant, shares of Stock having a value equal to the amount required to be withheld or by delivering to us other shares of Stock held by such participant. The shares used for tax or other withholding will be valued at an amount equal to the fair market value of such shares of Stock on the date the benefit is to be included in the participant’s income. In no event will the fair market value of the shares of Stock to be withheld and delivered pursuant to the 2022 Plan exceed the minimum amount required to be withheld, unless (1) an additional amount can be withheld and not result in adverse accounting consequences and (2) such additional withholding amount is authorized by the Committee. Participants will also make such arrangements as the Company may require for the payment of any withholding tax or other obligation that may arise in connection with the disposition of shares of Stock acquired upon the exercise of stock options.

No Right to Continued Employment. The 2022 Plan does not confer upon any participant any right with respect to continuance of employment or service with the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

Effective Date of the 2022 Plan. The 2022 Plan will become effective on the date it is approved by the Company’s shareholders. No grants will be made under the 2017 Plan on or after the date on which our shareholders approve the 2022 Plan, provided that outstanding awards granted under the 2017 Plan will continue following such date.

Amendment and Termination of the 2022 Plan. The Board generally may amend the 2022 Plan from time to time in whole or in part. However, if any amendment, for purposes of applicable stock exchange rules (and except as permitted under the adjustment provisions of the 2022 Plan) (1) would materially increase the benefits accruing to participants under the 2022 Plan, (2) would materially increase the number of securities which may be issued under the 2022 Plan, (3) would materially modify the requirements for participation in the 2022 Plan, or (4) must otherwise be approved by our shareholders in order to comply with applicable law or the rules of the New York Stock Exchange, or, if the shares of Stock are not traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the principal national securities exchange upon which the shares of Stock are traded or quoted, all as determined by the Board, then such amendment will be subject to shareholder approval and will not be effective unless and until such approval has been obtained.

Further, subject to the 2022 Plan’s prohibition on repricing, the Committee generally may amend the terms of any award prospectively or retroactively. Except in the case of certain adjustments permitted under the 2022 Plan, no such amendment may be made that would materially impair the rights of any participant without his or her consent. If permitted by Section 409A of the Code and subject to certain other limitations set forth in the 2022 Plan, and including in the case of termination of employment or service, or in the case of unforeseeable emergency or other circumstances or in the event of a change in control, the Committee may provide for continued vesting or accelerate the vesting of certain awards granted under the 2022 Plan or waive any other limitation or requirement under any such award.

The Board may, in its discretion, terminate the 2022 Plan at any time. Termination of the 2022 Plan will not affect the rights of participants or their successors under any awards outstanding and not exercised in full on the date of termination. No grant will be made under the 2022 Plan on or after the tenth anniversary of the effective date of the 2022 Plan, but all grants made on or prior to such date will continue in effect thereafter subject to their terms and the terms of the 2022 Plan.

New Plan Benefits

It is not possible to determine the specific amounts and types of awards that may be awarded in the future under the 2022 Plan because the grant and actual settlement of awards under the 2022 Plan are subject to the discretion of the plan administrator.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following is a brief summary of certain of the Federal income tax consequences of certain transactions under the 2022 Plan based on Federal income tax laws in effect. This summary, which is presented for the information of shareholders considering how to vote on this proposal and not for 2022 Plan participants, is not intended to be complete and does not describe Federal taxes other than income taxes (such as Medicare and Social Security taxes), or state, local or foreign tax consequences.

Tax Consequences to Participants

Restricted Stock. The recipient of restricted stock generally will be subject to tax at ordinary income rates on the fair market value of the restricted stock (reduced by any amount paid by the recipient for such restricted stock) at such time as the shares of restricted stock are no longer subject to forfeiture or restrictions on transfer for purposes of Section 83 of the Code (“Restrictions”). However, a recipient who so elects under Section 83(b) of the Code within 30 days of the date of transfer of the shares will have taxable ordinary income on the date of transfer of the shares equal to the excess of the fair market value of such shares (determined without regard to the Restrictions) over the purchase price, if any, of such restricted stock. If a Section 83(b) election has not been made, any dividends received with respect to restricted stock that are subject to the Restrictions generally will be treated as compensation that is taxable as ordinary income to the recipient.

Performance Shares, Performance Units, and Cash Incentive Awards. No income generally will be recognized upon the grant of performance shares, performance units, or cash incentive awards. Upon payment in respect of the earn-out of performance shares, performance units, or cash incentive awards, the recipient generally will be required to include as taxable ordinary income in the year of receipt an amount equal to the amount of cash received and the fair market value of any unrestricted shares of Stock received.

Nonqualified Stock Options. In general:

Incentive Stock Options. No income generally will be recognized by an optionee upon the grant or exercise of an Incentive Stock Option. The exercise of an Incentive Stock Option, however, may result in alternative minimum tax liability. If shares of Stock are issued to the optionee pursuant to the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option, and if no disqualifying disposition of such shares is made by such optionee within two years after the date of grant or within one year after the transfer of such shares to the optionee, then upon sale of such shares, any amount realized in excess of the option price will be taxed to the optionee as a long-term capital gain and any loss sustained will be a long-term capital loss.

If shares of Stock acquired upon the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option are disposed of prior to the expiration of either holding period described above, the optionee generally will recognize ordinary income in the year of disposition in an amount equal to the excess (if any) of the fair market value of such shares at the time of exercise (or, if less, the amount realized on the disposition of such shares if a sale or exchange) over the exercise price paid for such shares. Any further gain (or loss) realized by the participant generally will be taxed as short-term or long-term capital gain (or loss) depending on the holding period.

SARs. No income will be recognized by a participant in connection with the grant of a SAR. When the SAR is exercised, the participant normally will be required to include as taxable ordinary income in the year of exercise an amount equal to the amount of cash received and the fair market value of any unrestricted shares of Stock received on the exercise.

RSUs. No income generally will be recognized upon the award of RSUs. The recipient of an RSU award generally will be subject to tax at ordinary income rates on the fair market value of unrestricted shares of Stock on the date that such shares are transferred to the participant under the award (reduced by any amount paid by the participant for such RSUs), and the capital gains/loss holding period for such shares will also commence on such date.

Tax Consequences to the Company and its Subsidiaries

To the extent that a participant recognizes ordinary income in the circumstances described above, the Company or the subsidiary for which the participant performs services will be entitled to a corresponding deduction provided that, among other things, the income meets the test of reasonableness, is an ordinary and necessary business expense, is not an “excess parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code and is not disallowed by the $1 million limitation on certain executive compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code.

Registration with the SEC

We intend to file a Registration Statement on Form S-8 relating to the issuance of shares of Stock under the 2022 Plan with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, as soon as practicable after approval of the 2022 Plan by our shareholders.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table gives information about the common stock and Class A common stock that may be issued upon the exercise of options, warrants and rights under all existing equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2021:

(1)         Consists of shares of common stock issuable under our 2017 Plan.

(2)         Consists of shares of our Class A common stock that are issuable under our 2017 Plan.

The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the approval of the 2022 Plan.

PROPOSAL 3

RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE COMPANY’S
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR 20212022

Gray’s independent registered public accounting firm is appointed annually by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee examines a number of factors when selecting a firm, including the qualifications, staffing considerations, and the independence and quality controls of the firms considered. The Audit Committee has appointed RSM US LLP as Gray’s independent registered public accounting firm to audit our financial statements and our internal control over financial reporting for the year ending December 31, 2021.2022. RSM US LLP has served as Gray’s independent registered public accounting firm since 2006 and is considered by management to be well-qualified.

Shareholder ratification of the selection of RSM US LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm is not required but is being presented to our shareholders as a matter of good corporate practice. Notwithstanding shareholder ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm, the Audit Committee, in its discretion, may direct the appointment of a new independent registered public accounting firm if the Audit Committee believes that such a change would be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Should the shareholders not ratify the selection of RSM US LLP as Gray’s independent registered public accounting firm for 20212022 under this proposal, it is contemplated that the appointment of RSM US LLP for 20212022 will nevertheless be permitted to stand unless the Audit Committee, upon reconsideration, finds other compelling reasons for making a change.

Representatives of RSM US LLP are expected to be present virtually at the 20212022 Annual Meeting and, if present, will be given the opportunity to make a statement, if they desire, and to respond to appropriate questions.

Fees

The fees billed by RSM US LLP for 20202021 and 20192020 were as follows:

All audit related services, tax services and other non-audit services provided to the Company by RSM US LLP must be, and all such services and the expenses related to such services in 20202021 and 20192020 were, pre-approved by the Audit Committee, which also concluded that the provision of such services was compatible with the maintenance of RSM US LLP’s independence in the conduct of its auditing functions.

In accordance with its written charter, the Audit Committee reviews and discusses with RSM US LLP, on a periodic basis, any disclosed relationships or services that may impact the objectivity and independence of the independent registered public accounting firm and pre-approves all audit and permitted non-audit services (including the fees and terms thereof) to be performed for us by our independent registered public accounting firm.

The Board recommends a vote FOR the ratification of the appointment of RSM US LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2021.2022.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

General

We have adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to all of our directors, executive officers and employees. If any waiver of this Code of Ethics is granted to an executive officer, the waiver will be disclosed in a SEC filing on Form 8-K. Our Code of Ethics and the written charters of our Audit Committee, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and our Compensation Committee, as well as our Corporate Governance Principles, are available on our website at www.gray.tv in the Investor Relations section under the subheading Governance Documents. All such information is also available in print to any shareholder upon request by telephone at (404) 266-8333.

Determination of Independence

After considering all applicable regulatory requirements and assessing the materiality of each director’s relationship with us, our Board has affirmatively determined that the following directors are independent in accordance with Sections 303A.02(a) and (b) of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) listing standards and the standards set forth in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “IRC”) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”): Messrs. Boger, Elder, Garcia, Hare, McTear, Newton and Spainhour.Spainhour and Ms. McClain. In making its independence determinations, the Board considered the following relationships between the Company and its directors, entities associated with directors, or members of their immediate families:

Communication with the Board

Gray encourages interested parties to communicate with its Board. Any interested party who wishes to communicate with the Board or with any particular director, including any independent director, may send a letter to our Corporate Secretary, Gray Television, Inc., 4370 Peachtree Road, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30319, which communications will be forwarded to the Board by the Company’s Corporate Secretary. Any communication should indicate that you are an interested party and clearly specify that such communication is intended to be made to the entire Board or to one or more particular directors.

Attendance at Annual Meetings

The Board does not have a formal policy with respect to attendance at annual meetings of shareholders, but the Board has historically held a regularly scheduled meeting in connection with each annual meeting of the shareholders, and directors are expected to attend. All director nominees who were then serving as directors of the Company attended the 20202021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders virtually.

In accordance with Section 303A.03 of the NYSE listing standards, the independent non-management directors meet in executive sessions without management or non-independent directors present on a periodic basis. This occurred three times during 2020. Mr. Newton, as Lead Independent Director of the Board presided over these meetings.Leadership Structure

Consistent with our belief that our leadership structure should reflect the best interests of the Company and our shareholders, we have not adopted a written policy with regard to whether or not the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board should be held by separate individuals. Rather, we believe that the Board should remain free to determine the Company’s oversight and leadership structure from time to time based upon the availability of qualified and competent candidates. Beginning in April 2016, in light of, among other things, the Company’s significant growth and related increase in operational complexity, the desire to ensure effective communication between management and the Board, to provide strong and consistent leadership through a unified voice for the Company, and to help ensure that the Chief Executive Officer understands and can effectively and efficiently oversee the implementation of the recommendations and decisions of the Board, the Board appointed Mr. Howell to the additional role of Chairman of the Board (and then as Executive Chairman in 2019), and appointed Mr. Newton, who is an independent director, to serve in the newly created role of Lead Independent Director of the Board. As Lead Independent Director, Mr. Newton, who also serves on each committee of the Board, among other things:

In accordance with Section 303A.03 of the NYSE listing standards, the independent non-management directors meet in executive sessions without management or non-independent directors present on a periodic basis.  This occurred three times during 2021.  Mr. Newton, as Lead Independent Director of the Board, presided over these meetings.

Related Party Transactions

With respect to potential transactions with related parties required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, the Audit Committee charter provides that the Audit Committee must review and approve such transactions in advance after full disclosure of the nature and extent of the related party’s interest in any such transaction. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” for a description of such related party transactions since the beginning of 20202021 or that are currently proposed.

Management of the Company is responsible for the Company’s day-to-day risk management, and the Board serves in an oversight role, including with respect to risk management. The Audit Committee assists the Board in fulfilling this risk management oversight function. The Audit Committee and management of the Company periodically review the Company’s policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management, including major financial risk exposures and the internal controls and procedures in place to manage such risks. In addition, the Audit Committee and the Board consider risk-related matters on an on-going basis in connection with deliberations regarding specific transactions and issues.

Board Committees and Membership

The Board held seventwelve meetings during 2020.2021. During 2020,2021, each of the directors attended at least 75% of the meetings of the Board and meetings of all committees of the Board on which such director served.

Our Board has the following committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Executive Committee.

Audit Committee.The purpose of the Audit Committee, which is set forth in its charter, is, among other things, to assist the Board in its oversight of the integrity of the Company’s financial statements; the Company’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; the independent auditor’s qualifications and independence; and the performance of the Company’s internal audit function and independent auditor. The Audit Committee held four meetings during 2020.2021. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Boger, Elder, Hare and Newton (as Chairman). The Board has affirmatively determined that each of Mr. Elder and Mr. Hare is an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined under applicable SEC rules. The identification of each of Mr. Elder and Mr. Hare as an audit committee financial expert does not impose on him any duties, obligations or liabilities that are greater than the duties, obligations and liabilities imposed on the other members of the Audit Committee. The Board has determined that all members of the Audit Committee are independent in accordance with NYSE and SEC rules governing audit committee member independence. The report of the Audit Committee is set forth in this proxy statement under the heading “Report of Audit Committee.”

Compensation Committee.The purpose of the Compensation Committee is to carry out the overall responsibility of the Board relating to executive officer compensation. In carrying out this purpose, the Compensation Committee has the responsibility, as set forth in its charter, to, among other things, establish and review the overall compensation philosophy of the Company; review and approve our goals and objectives relevant to the CEO’s and other executive officers’ compensation; and evaluate the performance of the CEO and other executive officers in light of established goals and objectives and, based on such evaluation, determine and approve compensation of the CEO and other executive officers. The Compensation Committee also administers the Company’s various equity incentive plans. The Compensation Committee held four meetings in 2020.2021. The current members of the Compensation Committee are Messrs. Boger (as Chairman), Garcia, McTear and Newton. The Board has affirmatively determined that all members of the Compensation Committee are independent, in accordance with NYSE, SEC and IRC rules governing independence. The report of the Compensation Committee is set forth in this proxy statement under the heading “Report of Compensation Committee.”

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.The purpose of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, as set forth in its charter, is to, among other things, assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibilities to shareholders by identifying individuals qualified to become directors of the Company, recommending candidates to the Board for all directorships, developing and recommending to the Board an applicable set of corporate governance principles, and overseeing the evaluation of the Board and management. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met or acted by written consent three timesheld two meetings in 2020.2021. The current members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are Messrs. Boger, Hare (as Chairman), Newton and Newton.Spainhour. The Board has determined that all members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are independent in accordance with NYSE and SEC rules governing nominating committee independence. In recommending candidates to the Board for nomination as directors, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee strives to identify individuals who bring a unique perspective to Gray’s leadership and contribute to the overall diversity of our Board. Although the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has not adopted a specific written diversity policy for nominations, we believe that a diversity of experience, gender, race, ethnicity and age contributes to effective governance for the benefit of our shareholders. In practice, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers such characteristics together with the other qualities considered necessary by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, such as requisite judgment, skill, integrity and experience. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not assign a particular weight to these individual factors. Rather, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee looks for a mix of factors that, when considered along with the experience and credentials of the other candidates and existing directors, will provide shareholders with a diverse and experienced Board. Historically, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has not determined a need to use a recruiting firm to assist with this process.

Executive Committee.The Executive Committee is authorized, subject to any legal or regulatory limits or as specified by the Board, to take such actions between meetings of the Board, as necessary to manage our business affairs, and to facilitate communication and coordination among the senior leadership of our Board.  The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Boger, Howell and Newton

Selection of Director-Nominees

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider recommendations for director nominees submitted by shareholders. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s evaluation of candidates recommended by our shareholders does not differ materially from its evaluation of candidates recommended from other sources. Shareholders wishing to recommend director candidates for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may do so by writing to our Corporate Secretary, giving the candidate’s name, biographical data, qualifications and all other information that is required to be disclosed under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC. The foregoing information should be forwarded to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, c/o Corporate Secretary, Gray Television, Inc., 4370 Peachtree Road, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30319.

The Executive CommitteeRisk Management

Management of the Company is authorized, subject to any legal or regulatory limits or as specified byresponsible for the Company’s day-to-day risk management, and the Board serves in an oversight role, including with respect to takerisk management.  The Audit Committee assists the Board in fulfilling this risk management oversight function.  The Audit Committee and management of the Company periodically review the Company’s policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management, including major financial risk exposures and the internal controls and procedures in place to manage such actionsrisks, as well as the steps that management takes to monitor and control such exposures.  In addition, the Audit Committee and the Board consider risk-related matters on an on-going basis in connection with deliberations regarding specific transactions and issues. The Compensation Committee provides oversight of the Company’s risk management processes in the design, implementation and operation of the Company’s incentive compensation policies, practices and plans for executive officers and other employees.  The Company believes that the Board’s leadership structure supports the risk oversight function of the Board.  Experienced directors chair each of the various committees, there is open communication between meetingsmanagement and members of the Board, as necessaryand the Board is active in fulfilling its oversight role of risk management.

Social Responsibility

At Gray, we are committed to manageempowering each person within the Company to grow, thrive and deliver positive impact to those around us. While we have continued to expand our broadcasting footprint, we have remained committed to keeping news local and doing what we can to ensure our stations continue to remain fixtures in their communities. Connecting with each of the communities that we serve every day is an essential tenet of our corporate mission. We believe that this guiding vision helps us benefit our stockholders, our employees and other stakeholders, the environment and the communities we serve.

Our Workplace and Employees

Successful execution of our strategy depends on attracting, developing and retaining key employees and members of our management team. We believe the substantial skills, experience and industry knowledge of our employees and our training programs benefit our operations and our performance. There are several ways in which we attract, develop, and retain highly qualified talent, including:

For instance, we launched a formal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) training program in 2020 that involved all managers. We also created discussion groups of employees with diverse backgrounds and experience to identify how the Company can take action to ensure that all employees have a respectful and exciting career experience with Gray. The Company seeks to implement the recommendations from those groups and works with DEI professionals to continue our progress.

More recently, in February 2022, we announced plans to create the Gray Media Training Center in partnership with WLBT, our top-ranked television station in Jackson, Mississippi.  This media training program will prepare students for today’s unique operating environment, while simultaneously improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in media. The center is designed to educate and train students who attend Mississippi colleges and universities, with a focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the state. Students who are selected to participate in the center’s programs will learn today’s best practices for broadcast and digital journalism. They also will receive training in production, sales, operations, IT, engineering, coding and marketing, and have the opportunity to create a weekly public affairs show that will be shot, edited, produced, directed and hosted by students.

Our Commitment to the Environment

We know that the world is waking up to its environmental responsibility, and across our businesses we are committed to operating responsibly and efficiently, and to reducing environmental risks, including those related to climate change, associated with our operations. We seek to implement business affairs. The currentpractices and initiatives that promote sustainability for the good of tomorrow. As part of those efforts, we are seeking to implement resource efficiency initiatives and to identify opportunities to make further improvements.

Our transition to remote and flexible work environment that we implemented as part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic has permitted modernization and resizing of certain physical offices as well as a reduction in the time and impact from routine commuting into offices from pre-pandemic levels.

In addition, we continually invest in a number of resource efficiency initiatives and continuously look for opportunities to make further improvements. Our ongoing initiatives to reduce energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions include:

Furthermore, as a local news broadcaster, we believe that it is our responsibility to produce programming that increases viewers’ general awareness of environmental issues and that helps provide them with information about actions that they can take to help improve environmental sustainability.

Our Commitment to the Communities We Serve

As a local television broadcaster, Gray’s mission and responsibility is to provide accurate and unbiased informative news and community support that our viewers can count on. We are the second largest television broadcasting company in the United States, and we have the most Number One rated stations of any broadcaster in the country. We are committed to journalistic integrity, and our local stations are routinely recognized for their journalistic achievements through local, regional and national awards. Our National Investigative Team, “InvestigateTV”, provides innovative, original investigative journalism programming for Gray’s 113 television stations and other digital platforms.

We also strive to support and embrace the communities we serve as true members of those communities. We sponsor and participate in a wide array of community engagement activities, including supporting local food banks, education initiatives and local relief organizations. Our stations and employees regularly come together to raise money and awareness for communities that are impacted by extraordinary weather events, such as hurricanes and floods. In 2016, Gray launched Focus on Caring, a charitable organization that is funded by employees with matching contributions from the Executive CommitteeCompany, that directs money to Gray employees and their families facing financial hardship from unforeseen catastrophic events. Since its creation, Focus on Caring has distributed over one-half of one million dollars to Gray employees.

We believe that truly participating in and supporting the communities that we serve not only enhances the quality of our business operations, but also allows us to contribute to the greater good of society and communities of which we are Messrs. Boger, Howell and Newton.a part.

STOCK OWNERSHIP

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of our Class A common stock and our common stock as of March 5, 20214, 2022 by (i) any person who is known to us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5.0% of our Class A common stock or our common stock, (ii) our current directors (all of whom are also nominees for director), (iii) each current executive officer named in the Summary Compensation Table below and (iv) all current directors, director nominees, and current executive officers as a group. For purposes of this table, a person is deemed to be a beneficial owner of a security if he or she has or shares the power to vote or to direct the voting of such security, or the power to dispose or to direct the disposition of such security. Accordingly, more than one person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of the same securities. A person is also deemed to be a beneficial owner of any securities that such person has the right to acquire beneficial ownership of within 60 days. Except as otherwise indicated, the persons named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares shown as beneficially owned by them. The information as to beneficial ownership has been furnished by the respective persons listed in the following table. The percentages of each class are based on 88,220,20487,809,422 shares of common stock and 7,573,222 shares of Class A common stock and 7,171,019 shares of common stock outstanding as of March 5, 2021.4, 2022. Shares underlying outstanding stock options exercisable within 60 days of such date are deemed to be outstanding for purposes of calculating the percentage owned by such holder.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Named Executive Officers

The following discussion is focused primarily on the Company’s compensation philosophy, policies and programs as they relate to, and amounts paid or payable to, our executive officers for their services during 2020.2021. Those executive officers consist of the following individuals, who are referred to as our “named executive officers” or the “NEOs”:

Philosophy and Elements of Compensation Program

The goals of our executive compensation program are to attract, retain, motivate and reward our executive officers. We believe that the most appropriate executive compensation program is one that is competitive, yet conservatively designed, and that aligns long-term compensation with the creation of shareholder value and good corporate governance.

OurWe have designed our executive compensation program design reflectsto reflect the following best practices:

The overall compensation program for our executive officers is designed to provide the Compensation Committee with the flexibility to offer a combination of cash (fixed(both fixed and incentive-based) and equity-based compensation opportunities in order to retain, motivate and reward our executive officers, as well as to align their interests with those of our shareholders. To accomplish these goals, the Compensation Committee strives to achieve an appropriate level of compensation in order to:

The primary components of our executive compensation and benefit programs are summarized in the following table:

Overview of 20202021 Performance and Compensation

During 2020,2021, our Company, our employees, our advertisers, our viewers and the communities we serve, as well as the United States and the world at large, facedcontinued to face unprecedented challenges as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic consequences. Regular business operationsOur Company, nevertheless, made significant progress toward a full recovery from the pandemic challenges both financially as well as operationally. At the same time, the Company relentlessly pursued and achieved key operational and strategic objectives for the year, including the negotiation, execution, financing, closing, and initial integration of our Company,the Quincy Media, Inc. and of virtually every businessMeredith Corporation acquisitions. Achieving those transformational strategic goals resulted in Gray Television becoming the second largest television broadcaster in the United States faced challenges from the pandemic and resulting quarantine, including adjusting to a work-from-home environment and significant economic disruptions and dislocations. Despite all the challenges of the pandemic and resulting macroeconomic pressures, our Company continued to focusbased on pursuing and achieving our operational and strategic objectives while also keeping our own employees safe with innovative policies and protocols and building long-term value for our shareholders. revenues.

The Compensation Committee’s philosophy and decisions during 2020 were2021 continued to be driven more than ever, by the objectives of motivating our executives and recognizing them for their unwavering efforts and leadership through the pandemic while taking into accountand recovery. The Committee in particular recognized the impact of both the economic consequences that the Company faced as well as the positive long-term developments that the Company and its executives were able to achieve induring the face of such unprecedented challenges.year.

Consistent with the approach in prior years, actual compensation paid in and for 20202021 was intended to reward a number of significant achievements, particularly in light of our overall and each individual officer’s performance, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.pandemic, in successfully executing on our operational and strategic objectives. The Committee believes the Company’s performance in 20202021 resulted from not only the extraordinary strategic undertakings by senior management, but also their operational successes, all of which continue to contribute to building long-term value for the Company’s shareholders, including, but not limited, to the following:

As a result of these and other accomplishments by management throughout 2020,2021, the annual non-equity incentive compensation program paid out at 141%149% of target for all NEOs, including the CEO.

A majority of total compensation in 20202021 (base salary, non-equity incentive compensation paid and long-term equity incentive awards granted) is considered “at risk”, meaning that the compensation either is subject to stock price volatility or would only be earned by the Company or the individual meeting annual performance goals. The composition of “at risk” pay in 20202021 for the NEOs was as follows:

       

When the Compensation Committee convened in early 2021 to consider compensation decisions for 2021, Mr. Howell informed the Committee that, in light of the challenges that many of our employees and communities have continued to face as a result of the pandemic, each of the NEOs had requested that his base salary and incentive compensation opportunities not increase over 2020 levels for 2021.

Compensation Framework: How We Make Decisions

Role of the Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee of the Board maintains responsibility for establishing, reviewing and implementing our overall executive compensation philosophy. The Compensation Committee also administers our executive compensation programs through the development, evaluation and implementation of director and officer compensation plans, policies and arrangements;arrangements for our executive officers; the approval of the compensation of each of our named executive officers;Named Executive Officers; and establishing the compensation ofby administering our Board.equity incentive plans. The Compensation Committee consists of threefour members of our Board,Board: Messrs. Boger (as Chairman), Garcia, McTear and Newton. The Board has affirmatively determined that all members of the Compensation Committee are independent in accordance with applicable NYSE, SEC and IRC rules governing independence.

Role of the Independent Compensation Consultant

In evaluating, developing and implementing a compensation framework, policies and awards, the Compensation Committee works closely with an independent compensation consultant. The Compensation Committee directly hires, and has sole authority to terminate, the compensation consultant and to determine the terms and conditions of their engagement. The compensation consultant reports directly to the Compensation Committee.

In 2020,For 2021, the Compensation Committee continued to work withagain engaged Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC (“Meridian”), a leading compensation consulting firm, as its compensation consultant to advise the Compensation Committee in connection with the development and ongoing implementation of Gray’s compensation philosophy, policies and practices, including through:

The Compensation Committee takes steps to monitor and manage the independence of its compensation consultant, and as part of that process annually reviews the role and responsibilities of the compensation consultant and considers the independence factors established by the SEC related to conflicts of interest. As a result of the policies and procedures in place with respect to theits compensation consultant, the Compensation Committee believes that the compensation consultantMeridian is able to provide candid, direct and objective advice to the Compensation Committee that is not influenced by management. Meridian does not have a relationship with, nor in 20202021 did it provide any services to, the Company or the Compensation Committee other than in connection with the engagement as described above. As a result, the Compensation Committee believes that Meridian is fully independent for purposes of serving as the Compensation Committee’s compensation consultant.

Role of Executive Officers

At the request of the Compensation Committee, Mr. Howell, the Company’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, often participates in meetings of the Compensation Committee to provide input and answer questions related to management, business objectives and the performance of Gray and its executive officers. Mr. Howell presents individual pay recommendations for each of the NEOs, other than himself, and provides updates to the Committee on individual and Company performance as it relates to incentive plan progress. Neither Mr. Howell nor any other employee of the Company is present when the Compensation Committee meets in executive session to make executive officer compensation decisions.

Mr. Latek and Mr. Ryan may also participate in Compensation Committee meetings at the request of the Committee from time to time to provide input and recommendations for consideration of elements of program design and factors to be considered in establishing incentive compensation objectives.

Consideration of Say-On-Pay Vote and Related Matters

Since the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Act, Gray’s shareholders have been given the right to vote to approve, on an advisory, non-binding basis, the compensation of Gray’s NEOs at specified intervals. At Gray’s 2017 Annual Meeting, the shareholders approved a proposal providing that the shareholders would continue to vote on such compensation every three years. Gray’s shareholders had the opportunity to consider and vote to approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, the compensation of Gray’s NEOs at Gray’s 2020 Annual Meeting and will be provided another opportunity to vote on such compensation at Gray’s 2023 Annual Meeting. At Gray’s 2020 Annual Meeting, approximately 82% of the votes cast on our advisory say-on-pay proposal were voted to approve the compensation paid to our NEOs.

Since 2017, the Compensation Committee has engaged Meridian to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of our executive compensation program structure and governance processes, and continually reviews the goals, elements and operation of our compensation programs, and takes into account say-on-pay voting results. From time to time, the Compensation Committee also engages in dialogue or obtains other feedback about our compensation programs from key shareholders. These variousongoing efforts by the Compensation Committee have resulted in the following conclusions and actions:refinements to the compensation programs in an effort to:

We value our shareholders’ input, and our goal is to continue to enjoy strong shareholder support for our compensation programs by designing our compensation programs to support our overall compensation philosophy and to align with the creation of shareholder value. The Compensation Committee is committed to continuing to seek investor feedback on executive compensation issues and to design and implement compensation programs that not only serve to attract, incent and retain its key executive officers but also serve the long-term interests of our shareholders.

Determining Competitive Practices

The Compensation Committee, with the assistance of Meridian, has identified, and evaluates the compensation policies and practices of, a peer group for purposes of determining appropriate compensation structure, types and amounts for our executive officers. Specifically, for 2020,2021, the Compensation Committee used the peer group for relevant executive compensation comparisons such as market valuations of similar positions, and benchmarked certain compensation amounts and opportunities for each executive officer to market data for executives performing similar roles at peer group companies.

As part of the Compensation Committee’s periodic review and analysis of the peer group it evaluates, in late 20192020 the Compensation Committee, with the assistance of its compensation consultant and executive officers, determinedevaluated the existing peer group and concluded that there had not been any significant changes to modifythe Company, or to the peer group, to take into accountthat would necessitate a change in the increased size and scale of the Company following the Raycom Merger, as well as the continuing consolidation within the broadcasting industry.peer group for 2021. As a result of that review, the following compensation peer group, which was used for 2020, was considered in developing benchmarking data for each of the executive officers for 20202021 compensation decisions:

The Compensation Committee believes that the use of peer group benchmarking for executive compensation determination is appropriate and provides data relevant in helping the Compensation Committee execute on its philosophy.

Process for Establishing Executive Officer Total Compensation

Peer group data is one of many inputs used by the Compensation Committee when establishing pay levels for the Company’s NEOs. In establishing NEO compensation levels for 2020,2021, the Compensation Committee, with input from the Company’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (with respect to the other executive officers) and its independent compensation consultant, considered and evaluated historical and expected executive performance, peer group compensation metrics, internal pay equity considerations and a competitive market study prepared by the compensation consultant.

Compensation Decisions Made for 20202021

Base Salary

The base salary element of our executive compensation program provides each NEO with a fixed amount of annual cash compensation, intended to ensure an appropriate amount of financial certainty. Salaries for the NEOs are generally subject to annual review and adjustment by the Compensation Committee based on the size and complexity of the Company and its operations, the scope of each individual executive’s role, the knowledge and experience of the individual executive, the competitiveness of the executive’s total compensation as compared to the peer group, the performance of the incumbent and other factors.

Consistent with its practice of making initial compensation decisions for a fiscal year in the first quarter of each year, the Compensation Committee approved our NEOs’ base salaries for 20202021 at its meeting in February 2020. At2021. In early 2021, Mr. Howell had informed the Compensation Committee that, time, and after considerationin light of the factors described above,challenges that many of our employees and communities continued to face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, each of the NEOs had requested that his base salary, as well as incentive compensation opportunities, not be increased for 2021 over the levels for 2020.

Accordingly, in February 2021 the Compensation Committee approved base salaries for each of the NEOs at the same level as for 2020, in the following base salary increases for the NEOs to more closely align with the competitive market and desired pay positioning, and to reward for individual performance contributions from the prior year:amounts:

The Compensation Committee’s practice is to continue to monitor the named executive officers’ base salaries, and make adjustments from time to time as appropriate.

Annual Non-Equity Incentive Compensation Program

The objective of our annual non-equity incentive compensation program is to focus executive officers on attaining specific short-term financial and operational goals that contribute to the long-term success of our business. The annual non-equity incentive compensation program is designed to reward achievement offor both Company performance as well as individual performance, when warranted.

In 2020,2021, the overall program design was similar to 2019,2020, with 60% of the target opportunity earned based on performance against select quantitative financial metrics and 40% earned based on performance against qualitative goals that focus on operational and strategic metrics. Goals are typically determined at the Compensation Committee’s regularly scheduled meeting in the first quarter of each year after a review of financial and other performance data from the prior year and certain internally forecasted financial information. The quantitative metrics are designed to provide focus and certainty for management in striving to achieve pre-established financial goals that will lead to overall company success. Qualitative performance metrics will generally be chosen from those the Compensation Committee deems appropriate to motivate the Company’s executive officers towards the achievement of performance-based objectives that are in the Company’s long-term best interests. The program is designed with the ability to modify the payout of the award +/- 25% based upon individual performance, if warranted, but not to exceed the overall maximum payout amount of 200% of target.

Quantitative Performance Metrics (60% weight)

In 2020,For 2021, the Compensation Committee again selected the following three quantitative metrics against which to measure performance - which are considered by management to be critical factors in driving revenue and profitability for the Company:

For each performance metric, the target performance goal under the Company’s annual non-equity incentive compensation program is aligned with the Company’s internal business plan and annual budget (except that for any Acquired Stations, 80% of the budgeted revenue for any such acquired stations would be established as the target), all as approved by the Compensation Committee. Threshold goals were established at 80% of the applicable target so that a minimum level of performance was required to be achieved before any incentive payment would be awarded, with a significant reduction to the incentive eligible to be earned if results were below target. Maximum award levels were established at achievement of 110% of target levels, as the Compensation Committee believed this represented an appropriate amount of stretch for the goals.

The Compensation Committee sets the threshold, target and maximum criteria at the start of each fiscal year to ensure that an appropriate degree of difficulty is incorporated into the goals. In addition, and in order to minimize the potential for changes in goals throughout the year, performance for determining award eligibility is evaluated excluding the results of any divested operations.

The following goals were established in January 2020February 2021 for the 20202021 year:

Actual performance levels between threshold and target, or between target and maximum, are used to determine actual incentive awards. For purposes of calculating amounts payable under the annual non-equity incentive compensation program, actual Company performance compared to goal performance for each of the metrics was independently determined and calculated.

Qualitative Performance Metrics (40% weight)

As described above, the Compensation Committee believes that in light of, among other things, management’s efforts in developing and executing on operational and strategic objectives, including the successful continued growth of the Company through acquisitions, the increasing scope and complexity of the Company’s operations, and the range of contributions the executive officers make to enhancing the Company’s business operations and long-term value for shareholders, it is appropriate to include certain non-quantitative Company performance metrics (collectively the “qualitative metrics”) for purposes of determining performance under the annual non-equity incentive compensation program. Specifically, the qualitative metrics approved for measurement purposes in 2020,2021, as in 2019,2020, were weighted at 40% of the total award opportunity and were comprised of a mix of absolute and relative factors that the Compensation Committee identified as important measures of success in achieving the Company’s long-term goals.

The qualitative metrics established for 20202021 consisted of the following five absolute measures of the Company’s performance: (1) growth in total revenues (net of agency commissions) of 3% or more; (2) growth in broadcast cash flow; (3) growth in enterprise value (i.e., the sum of the Company’s outstanding debt plus equity value) of 5% or more; (3) growth in broadcast cash flow; (4) effective balance sheet and capital structure management and prudent decision making regarding debt structure and accessing capital markets; and (5) development and implementation of original programming and content and strategic programming initiatives.

In addition, the qualitative metrics included for 20202021 consisted of the following relative factors by which the Company’s performance would be measured in comparison to the following television station groups: Sinclair; Nexstar; E. W. Scripps; Meredith; TEGNA; Graham Holdings; Cox Media Group and Hearst Television:

In considering and evaluating satisfaction of the qualitative factors, the Compensation Committee may also consider various factors that require significant effort of the management team but are not necessarily encompassed in the above list, such as quality of viewing, evaluating and potentially executing on debt and equity financing and acquisition transaction opportunities, annual growth in stock price, short- and/or long-term growth in market capitalization, and other significant activities that position the company for long-term stability and/or growth.

Annual Award Opportunities

Annual non-equity incentive compensation program payout opportunity levels wereare established to provide each NEO with a market-competitive incentive opportunity linked to achievement of the pre-determined financial goals, qualitative metrics and individual performance. Consistent withAs was the Company’s overallcase for 2021 base salaries, for 2021 the Compensation Committee maintained the incentive compensation philosophy,opportunities at the same level as in 2020. This approach resulted in annual non-equity incentive compensation program award opportunity levels (as a percentage of base salary) approved by the Compensation Committee for the NEOs in 2020 were2021 as follows:

At the Compensation Committee’s regularly scheduled meeting in the first quarter of 2021,2022, the achievement of financial goals for 20202021 were certified, with resulting payouts approved following the Compensation Committee’s review of the Company’s financial results for the prior fiscal year. The Committee also reviewed certain publicly available information, data available from third parties, and internal proprietary data to assess the Company’s performance with respect to the qualitative metrics. Following careful consideration of that material,all the information, the Committee concluded that on an overall basis the Company surpassed the goals set for the 20202021 qualitative metrics ofby satisfying essentially all of the identified metrics, despite the challenges faced by the Company due to the continuing impact of COVID-19.COVID-19 during 2021. In particular, the Company significantly surpassed each of the five absolute metrics, and it generally ranked at the highest levels among industry peers in nearly all of the relative metrics included in the qualitative metrics analysis. The Compensation Committee also recognized that despite the impact of COVID-19, many of the Company’s key financial metrics nevertheless ultimately exceeded management’s original expectations from January 2020 due to a variety of key operational factors and leadership initiatives by management, including developing strategic sales and training initiatives, achieving record political revenues, implementing prudent expense management, and achieving core revenue trends that exceeded peer group levels.2021. In light of all of the foregoing, the Compensation Committee determined that qualitative metric portions of the annual incentive compensation would be scored at maximum, generating a 200%175% of target payout for that component. Total quantitative and qualitative metric amounts for the annual incentive compensation to each NEO were awarded as follows:

In evaluating the bonus payouts for 2020, the Compensation took special note of the extraordinary efforts during the pandemic, and the contributions that each NEO made to the Company’s success in addressing the challenges presented in 2020, and determined that each NEO was entitled to an individual performance adjustment, as provided in the previously adopted annual non-equity incentive compensation program, of +20%. As a result, the total payout for each of the NEOs under the annual non-equity incentive program for 2020 was 141% of target.

The Committee did not exercise discretion outside of the terms of the incentive plan to further adjust payouts based on individual performance for 2020.2021. Individual incentive payouts are reported in the Summary Compensation Table found on page 27 of the proxy.47.

Long-Term Equity Incentive Awards

The decision to grant, and the amounts of, equity-based long-term incentive awards, on an annual basis or otherwise, is generally a discretionary process. In undertaking this decision-making process, the Compensation Committee considers a number of factors, including, but not limited to the following:

In the event equity-based long-term incentive awards are granted, it has been the historical practice that award levels are also established at the Compensation Committee’s discretion, as opposed to being made with a formulaic approach such as is used to provide annual non-equity incentive compensation opportunities.

In order to be able to provide awards intended to further align the interests of our executive officers, and other key employees, with the interests of our shareholders through stock price appreciation, we have established, and at our 2017 Annual Meeting the Company’s shareholders approved, the Gray Television, Inc. 2017 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2017 EICP”). The 2017 EICP allows for the grant of various types of equity awards, including performance shares, restricted shares and stock options. If stock options are granted, it is our practice to grant options with an exercise price equal to the closing price of the underlying class of our stock on the date of grant.

20202021 Long-Term Incentive Award Opportunities

In 2020,2021, the structure of the long-term incentive awards granted to the Chief Executive Officer and to the President and Co-Chief Executive Officer were as follows:

In 2020,2021, in order to provide a balance between retention and performance for the other NEOs, and to further incentivize them toward the creation of long-term value, the Compensation Committee granted restricted stock awards with a three-year ratable vesting schedule beginning one year from the date of grant.

After taking into account recent historical Company performance, recent years’ equity incentive awards and the overall value of the NEOs’ respective target compensation levels, as well as the NEOs stated desire that target levels not be increased above the levels for 2020, in light of the effects of the pandemic, in February 20202021 the Compensation Committee approved long-term equity incentive (“LTI”) awards with the following values (as a percent of base salary):

See “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2020”2021” for additional information, including the amount and grant date fair value of shares awarded.

Payouts of 20182019 Long-Term Incentive Grants –- CEO

In February 2021,2022, the Compensation Committee certified that the performance criteria with respect to the performance-based long-term restricted stock awards that werehad been granted to each of Mr. Howell and Mr. LaPlatney in February 20182019 had been achieved, and that hethey each had earned those shares, all of which vested in accordance with their terms on February 28, 2021.terms. The number of performance shares actually earned was based on the performance of Gray Television over the three-year performance period ending on December 31, 2020.2021. Consequently, the Compensation Committee approved a total payout to Mr. Howell of 150,755136,537 shares (orand to Mr. LaPlatney of 66,062 shares, each representing 137% of the target amount of the performance-based stock awards) based on the three-year average of 137% of target payout achieved (excluding the impact of any individual performance adjustment) under the Annual Non-Equity Incentive Compensation Program. The full amount of the shares that Mr. Howell received under the 20182019 Long-Term Incentive Awards were settled in shares of GTNClass A common stock for Mr. Howell and of Common Stock for Mr. LaPlatney.

One-Time Awards to Named Executive Officers

During 2021, the Company completed a series of strategic transactions, the most significant of which were the $936 million acquisition of Quincy Media, Inc. in August, and the $2.8 billion acquisition of Meredith Corporation’s Local Media Group in December (collectively, the “Transformative Transactions”). As a result of those two transactions, the Company became the second largest television broadcaster in terms of revenues, as well as the largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the United States. In recognition of the strategic leadership and the extraordinary contributions of the Company’s executive officers in successfully executing those two Transformative Transactions, in December 2021 the Compensation Committee granted our named executive officers special transaction completion bonuses, as permitted under the terms of the 2017 EICP. The bonus awards, which consisted of a combination of cash and long-term equity incentive awards, were intended by the Compensation Committee to both reward the executives for their specific contributions to the Transformative Transactions and to provide further incentive for the successful consolidation of all of the operations and the integration of the organizations, employees and operations over the four years following completion of the Transformative Transactions. The one-time awards, which were effective on December 1, 2021 following completion of both transactions, consisted of the following:

The Compensation Committee made these awards under the 2017 EICP, after consultation with its compensation consultant, in recognition of both the extraordinary efforts of the key executive officers in negotiating, structuring and successfully completing the Transformative Transactions for the Company and its shareholders, and the significant additional efforts that will be expected following the transactions, as well as to provide additional incentive for those executive officers in their efforts to continue to enhance the long-term value of the Company for all of its shareholders.

Retirement Plans and Other Benefits

Capital Accumulation Plan

Our NEOs, and all of our other employees, are eligible to participate in the Gray Television, Inc., Capital Accumulation 401(k) Plan (the “Capital Accumulation Plan”). Under the Capital Accumulation Plan employees are eligible to defer a part of their current income under the provisions of Section 401(k) of the IRC. Participants may elect to make pre-tax deferrals from their compensation each year, subject to annual limits on such deferrals imposed by the IRC. We may also, at our discretion, on an annual basis, make a matching contribution with respect to a participant’s elective deferrals and/or may make additional voluntary contributions based on annual Company performance. Discretionary profit sharing contributions, if made, are made to all qualified employees employed on the last day of the plan year, and the amount a qualified employee receives is based on their pay and years of service. In 2020,2021, we intended to make matching contributions sufficient for the Capital Accumulation Plan to meet the safe harbor requirements under Code Section 401(k)(12)(b) and therefore matched employee contributions at a rate of 100% of the first 1% of each employee’s salary deferral, and 50% of the next 5% of each employee’s salary deferral. In addition, in 2020,2021, we approved discretionary profit sharing contributions of approximately $7.4$7 million in the aggregate. Participants are immediately vested in their voluntary contributions plus any earnings thereon. For 2020,2021, employer contributions (plus earnings thereon) were also immediately vested as required under the safe harbor requirements under Code Section 401(k)(12)(b). The Company’s discretionary profit sharing contributions made for 20202021 become 100% vested after a participant completes three years of service. The vested portion of a participant’s accrued benefit is payable in a lump sum upon such employee’s termination of employment, attainment of age 59 1⁄2, retirement, total and permanent disability, or death. Participants may also make in-service withdrawals from the Capital Accumulation Plan and in certain specified instances of hardship.

Pension Plan

Our NEOs are also eligible to participate in the Gray Television, Inc. Retirement Plan (the “Retirement Plan”). This Retirement Plan benefit, however, was frozen effective July 1, 2015, and no further benefits accrue thereunder.

Under this plan, a participating employee who retires on or after attaining age 65 and who has completed five years of service upon retirement may be eligible to receive during his or her lifetime, in the form of monthly payments, an annual pension equal to (i) 22% of the employee’s average earnings for the highest five consecutive years during the employee’s final ten years of employment multiplied by a factor, the numerator of which is the employee’s years of service credited under the plan before 1994 and the denominator of which is the greater of 25 or the years of service credited under the plan, plus (ii) 0.9% of the employee’s monthly average earnings for the highest five consecutive years in the employee’s final ten years of employment added to 0.6% of monthly average earnings in excess of Social Security covered compensation, multiplied by the employee’s years of service credited under the plan after 1993, with a maximum of 25 years minus years of service credited under (i) above. For participants as of December 31, 1993, there is a minimum benefit equal to the projected benefit under (i) at that time. The table in the section entitled Pension Benefits herein lists the years of credited service and the present value of each NEO’s accumulated pension benefit, assuming payment begins at age 65, under the Retirement Plan.

Under the terms of the Retirement Plan, the accrued benefit is subject to the following distribution terms:

Under the terms of the separate pension plan which was merged into the Retirement Plan, as it concerns Mr. Ryan’s accrued benefit, similar spousal distribution protections are in place and will be separately applicable. In addition, because such plan had a lump sum payment option, special rules address how this lump sum option works with the annuity forms of payments also available to participants.

Perquisites

Gray also provides its executive officers with limited perquisites and other benefits, including the right to participate in all employee benefit plans generally available to employees, such as medical, dental, life and disability insurance plans. The Compensation Committee also believes it is appropriate for the Company to pay certain insurance premiums on behalf of our NEOs in order to remain market competitive for executive talent.

Change-in-Control Plan

Gray has adopted a Change in Control Plan under which participants are generally selected by the Compensation Committee and currently include our NEOs, and certain other key employees. Under the Change in Control Plan, a participant who, in connection with a change in control of the Company or within 24 months following a change in control, is involuntarily terminated without cause or voluntarily terminates his or her employment for good reason, would receive certain benefits as outlined below in “-Potential“Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control- Change in Control Plan.”

Other Governance Items

Stock Ownership Guidelines

Based on the view of the Compensation Committee that the ownership of an equity interest in the Company by executives is a component of good corporate governance and aligns executives and shareholder interests, the Compensation Committee adopted stock ownership guidelines that require the NEOs to directly own minimum amounts of the Company’s stock. Shares that count towards the satisfaction of the guidelines are those 1)(i) owned directly by the participant, 2)(ii) held in a brokerage account or 401(k) account, 3)(iii) held in trust or by a wholly-owned family entity and 4)(iv) restricted shares. Stock options, performance shares not yet paid out and any shares held in a margin account or pledged as collateral for a loan, are excluded from the stock ownership guidelines.

The guidelines require the participants to beneficially own a number of shares of Class A and/or common stock that, when multiplied by relevant stock price on the measurement date, produces an amount equal to or greater than the multiple of salaries noted below:

Executives have five years to comply with these guidelines, with progress to be reviewed by the Compensation Committee annually. The holdings of each NEO currently satisfy the individual’s stock ownership guidelines.

Anti-hedging Policy

Gray has adopted a policy that prohibits certain officers and directors of the Company from purchasing any financial instrument that is designed to hedge or offset any decrease in the market share of the Company’s common stock, including prepaid variable forward contracts, equity swaps, collars and exchange funds or any other type of financial transaction. Directors, executive officers and other designated employees are also restricted from engaging in short sales related to the Company’s common stock.

Clawback Policy

Gray has adopted a policy to ensure that incentive compensation is paid based on accurate financial data. This policy applies to key executive management in the event of any material restatement of the financial statements of the Company or its subsidiaries. In the event of such restatement, the Board (or an appropriate committee of the Board) shall review the facts and circumstances that led to the requirement for the restatement and will determine whether a clawback of certain compensation is appropriate.

Risk Considerations

The Compensation Committee with the assistance of its independent compensation consultant periodically reviews the Company’s compensation philosophy, policies and practices to ensure that such philosophy, policies and practices are appropriately structured for the Company and its business objectives and discourages executives from taking excessive risk. In developing Gray’s philosophy, and implementing the policies and practices, the Compensation Committee with input from the independent compensation consultant has attempted to mitigate the possibility that excessive short-term risks are being taken at the expense of long-term value. These mitigation strategies include:

Starting in 2018, additional risk mitigation policies were added, including the implementation of stock ownership guidelines, an anti-hedging policy and a clawback policy.

Based on its review, and in consultation with and input from the independent compensation consultant, the Compensation Committee has concluded that the compensation policies and programs at Gray do not create risks that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Compensation Deduction Limitations

In general, all compensation (other than certain grandfathered compensation) we pay in excess of $1.0 million to anyone who serves as one of our named executive officers is not deductible. We may from time to time design compensation plans that recognize a full range of performance and other criteria important to our success regardless of the federal tax deductibility of compensation paid under those plans. The Compensation Committee will continue to retain the discretion to pay non-deductible amounts. The Compensation Committee believes that such flexibility best serves the interests of the Company and its shareholders by allowing the Committee to recognize, motivate and retain executive officers as circumstances warrant.

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth a summary of the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and our other executive officers for each of 2021, 2020 2019 and 2018:2019: