Every Royalty Deal on Shark Tank (Mr. Wonderful's Favorite Move)

If you have watched enough episodes, you know the moment. A founder thinks they are negotiating over equity, and then Kevin O'Leary leans in with a different kind of offer: he keeps his money, takes a smaller slice of the company, and asks for a few dollars on every unit you sell until he has been paid back, sometimes with a little extra after that. That is a royalty deal, and across the run of the show there have been 85 of them. It is the structure most associated with O'Leary, but the data shows he is far from the only shark who reaches for it.

A royalty deal is worth understanding whether you are a fan trying to decode what just happened on screen or an entrepreneur wondering what you would actually accept. The mechanics are simple. Instead of giving up a big chunk of ownership forever, you agree to pay the investor a set amount per sale. The shark gets cash flow quickly and protects their downside. You keep more of your company. The catch is that the meter runs on every order, which can quietly cost you more than equity if your product takes off.

Why a shark would rather have a per-unit cut

The appeal for the investor comes down to certainty. Equity only pays off if the company eventually sells or distributes profits, and most small consumer brands do neither for years. A royalty starts paying the day the product ships. That is why the structure gets attached to physical products with healthy margins and predictable reorders rather than software or service businesses.

The examples back this up. Copper Cow Coffee took a $600,000 royalty deal in season 12 with Robert Herjavec, a consumable product people buy again and again. Outer, the outdoor furniture brand, landed a $750,000 royalty with Lori Greiner in season 11. These are companies that move units steadily, which is exactly the kind of repeat volume a per-unit payment is built to capture.

It is not just a Kevin O'Leary move

The nickname in the title is fair, because O'Leary built his reputation on this structure and still pitches it constantly. Sunflow, the beach chair company, took a straight $1,000,000 royalty deal with him in season 13. But scan the rest of the list and you keep seeing other sharks doing the same thing, often without him in the room at all.

Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner teamed up on two of the largest royalty arrangements on record: $1,400,000 for the luggage brand Trunkster in season 7 and $1,000,000 for Bottlekeeper in season 10. Go back to season 2 and First Defense Nasal Screen pulled in a $750,000 royalty from a trio of Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, and Daymond John. The takeaway is that the royalty has become a shared tool on the panel, not a personal trademark.

What this means if you are the one taking the deal

If you are evaluating a royalty structure for your own business, the math matters more than the headline number. A per-unit payment is cheap when sales are slow and expensive when they explode, which is the opposite of how most founders think about cost. Equity hurts most at exit, when the company is finally worth something. A royalty hurts most during growth, skimming off every single order while you are still trying to build momentum.

That trade is not automatically bad. Many of these deals include a cap, where the royalty stops once the shark has recouped a multiple of their investment, after which you owe nothing further or keep paying only on the small equity stake they retained. The Copper Cow and Outer deals are good reference points precisely because they are mid-sized: large enough to fund real growth, structured so the founder did not hand over control. The lesson is to read the per-unit rate against your margin and your realistic sales volume, then ask what total dollars you will actually pay before the obligation ends.

For viewers, the next time a founder hesitates after a royalty offer, you will know why. They are doing the same arithmetic in their head, weighing keeping their ownership against paying a toll on every customer they ever win. With 85 of these deals on the books, it is one of the most common shapes a Shark Tank handshake can take, and now you can spot it the moment it appears.

The full list

85 pitches match. Figures reflect the deal as aired.

1. 1
   Trunkster

   Season 7 · Mark Cuban + Lori Greiner

   $1,400,000

2. 2
   Bottlekeeper

   Season 10 · Mark Cuban + Lori Greiner

   $1,000,000

3. 3
   Sunflow

   Season 13 · Kevin O'Leary

   $1,000,000

4. 4
   First Defense Nasal Screen

   Season 2 · Mark Cuban + Robert Herjavec + Daymond John

   $750,000

5. 5
   Outer

   Season 11 · Lori Greiner

   $750,000

6. 6
   Copper Cow Coffee

   Season 12 · Robert Herjavec

   $600,000

7. 7
   Wondercide

   Season 7 · Lori Greiner

   $500,000

8. 8
   BrilliantPad

   Season 9 · Lori Greiner

   $500,000

9. 9
   Phoozy

   Season 12 · Lori Greiner + Robert Herjavec

   $500,000

10. 10
    Woosh

    Season 14 · Kevin O'Leary

    $500,000

11. 11
    Wild Wonder

    Season 14 · Tony Xu

    $500,000

12. 12
    Cabinet Health

    Season 14 · Kevin O'Leary + Tony Xu

    $500,000

13. 13
    Honeyfund

    Season 6 · Kevin O'Leary

    $400,000

14. 14
    Kreyòl Essence

    Season 11 · Kevin O'Leary

    $400,000

15. 15
    Pair Eyewear

    Season 11 · Lori Greiner + Katrina Lake

    $400,000

16. 16
    Parting Stone

    Season 14 · Lori Greiner + Kevin O'Leary

    $400,000

17. 17
    You Go Natural

    Season 14 · Mark Cuban

    $400,000

18. 18
    Chalkless

    Season 16 · Kevin O'Leary + Rashaun Williams

    $400,000

19. 19
    Taverns

    Season 16 · Lori Greiner

    $400,000

20. 20
    Va Broom

    Season 13 · Kevin O'Leary

    $350,000

21. 21
    Animated Lure

    Season 12 · Kevin O'Leary

    $325,000

22. 22
    Fire Avert

    Season 7 · Lori Greiner

    $300,000

23. 23
    Curie

    Season 13 · Barbara Corcoran + Mark Cuban

    $300,000

24. 24
    Chess Up

    Season 14 · Lori Greiner

    $300,000

25. 25
    Jica Foods

    Season 14 · Barbara Corcoran

    $300,000

26. 26
    Flora

    Season 15 · Lori Greiner

    $300,000

27. 27
    Blueland

    Season 11 · Kevin O'Leary

    $270,000

28. 28
    Classroom Jams

    Season 1 · Barbara Corcoran + Mark Cuban + Robert Herjavec + Daymond John + Kevin O'Leary

    $250,000

29. 29
    CoolWraps

    Season 4 · Mark Cuban

    $250,000

30. 30
    Innovation Pet

    Season 7 · Kevin O'Leary

    $250,000

31. 31
    Pop It Pal

    Season 10 · Kevin O'Leary

    $250,000

32. 32
    Tailgate N Go

    Season 11 · Matt Higgins

    $250,000

33. 33
    Pooch Paper

    Season 12 · Kevin O'Leary

    $250,000

34. 34
    Banana Loca

    Season 13 · Mark Cuban + Kevin O'Leary

    $250,000

35. 35
    Calm Strips

    Season 13 · Robert Herjavec

    $250,000

36. 36
    Round 21

    Season 13 · Kevin O'Leary

    $250,000

37. 37
    Supermix Studio

    Season 15 · Lori Greiner + Robert Herjavec

    $250,000

38. 38
    Yardsale

    Season 16 · Kendra Scott

    $250,000

39. 39
    Shark Wheel

    Season 6 · Mark Cuban + Robert Herjavec + Nick Woodman

    $225,000

40. 40
    Pipsnacks

    Season 6 · Barbara Corcoran

    $200,000

41. 41
    Monti Kids

    Season 10 · Kevin O'Leary

    $200,000

42. 42
    The Best Pocket Sqaure Holder

    Season 10 · Daymond John

    $200,000

43. 43
    Wad Free

    Season 13 · Kevin O'Leary

    $200,000

44. 44
    Roq Innovation

    Season 13 · Kevin O'Leary + Peter Jones

    $200,000

45. 45
    Cat Amazing

    Season 13 · Lori Greiner

    $200,000

46. 46
    Bunny Eyez

    Season 15 · Daymond John

    $200,000

47. 47
    Element Bars

    Season 1 · Kevin Harrington

    $150,000

48. 48
    Coffee Joulies

    Season 4 · Lori Greiner + Robert Herjavec + Daymond John + Kevin O'Leary

    $150,000

49. 49
    The Wall DoctoRX

    Season 5 · Robert Herjavec

    $150,000

50. 50
    The Two Guys Bowtie Company

    Season 7 · Daymond John + Troy Carter

    $150,000

51. 51
    Digiwrap

    Season 8 · Kevin O'Leary

    $150,000

52. 52
    Loctote Industrial Bag

    Season 8 · Robert Herjavec

    $150,000

53. 53
    RounderBum

    Season 9 · Kevin O'Leary

    $150,000

54. 54
    Egg Mazing

    Season 9 · Lori Greiner

    $150,000

55. 55
    Myostorm

    Season 11 · Lori Greiner

    $150,000

56. 56
    Big Mouth Toothbrush

    Season 14 · Barbara Corcoran

    $150,000

57. 57
    Play Maysie

    Season 14 · Barbara Corcoran

    $150,000

58. 58
    Poplight

    Season 15 · Kevin O'Leary

    $150,000

59. 59
    Legit Kits

    Season 16 · Kevin O'Leary

    $150,000

60. 60
    InvisiPlug

    Season 5 · Lori Greiner

    $125,000

61. 61
    EZC Pak

    Season 11 · Kevin O'Leary

    $125,000

62. 62
    The Pizza Cupcake

    Season 12 · Lori Greiner

    $125,000

63. 63
    Critter Pricker

    Season 11 · Kevin O'Leary

    $115,000

64. 64
    Teddy Needs A Bath

    Season 4 · Mark Cuban

    $100,000

65. 65
    Sili Dogs

    Season 8 · Lori Greiner

    $100,000

66. 66
    Guard Llama

    Season 8 · Barbara Corcoran

    $100,000

67. 67
    No Mo-Stach

    Season 9 · Lori Greiner + Bethenny Frankel

    $100,000

68. 68
    Modern Christmas Trees

    Season 9 · Barbara Corcoran

    $100,000

69. 69
    Space Traveler

    Season 11 · Barbara Corcoran

    $100,000

70. 70
    Buckle Me Baby Coats

    Season 12 · Daymond John

    $100,000

71. 71
    Soa Pen

    Season 13 · Nirav Tolia

    $100,000

72. 72
    Kawaii Lightning

    Season 13 · Barbara Corcoran

    $100,000

73. 73
    Stakt Mat

    Season 14 · Lori Greiner

    $100,000

74. 74
    Turbo Trusser

    Season 14 · Kevin O'Leary

    $100,000

75. 75
    Bumpeez

    Season 16 · Barbara Corcoran + Robert Herjavec

    $100,000

76. 76
    Mod Mom Furniture

    Season 2 · Robert Herjavec

    $90,000

77. 77
    P Rx

    Season 7 · Kevin O'Leary

    $80,000

78. 78
    Natures Wild Berry

    Season 14 · Mark Cuban + Lori Greiner

    $80,000

79. 79
    Hillbilly Brand

    Season 2 · Robert Herjavec + Daymond John

    $75,000

80. 80
    The Smart Baker

    Season 3 · Barbara Corcoran

    $75,000

81. 81
    Wicked Good Cup Cakes

    Season 4 · Kevin O'Leary

    $75,000

82. 82
    Dingle Dangle

    Season 15 · Kevin O'Leary

    $75,000

83. 83
    Potato Parcel

    Season 8 · Kevin O'Leary

    $50,000

84. 84
    BabyToon

    Season 11 · Lori Greiner

    $50,000

85. 85
    TurboBaster

    Season 1 · Kevin Harrington

    $35,000