Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer got a $6 million pay cut last year but still got $36 million

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was paid $36 million in total compensation last year, down $6 million, or 15% from the year before, according to regulatory filings on Friday.

Most of the cuts came from her option awards, which went down roughly $9 million from the previous year, largely due to the 15% drop in Yahoo's stock price over the past year.

Her base salary remained the same at $1 million, as nearly all of her pay is tied to performance-related stock awards.

Still, her 2015 compensation is much higher than what she made two years prior to that, when her total pay was worth about $25 million.

The filings also pointed out that the actual value realized from Mayer's compensation was significantly lower than the reported $36 million amount. Because of the drop in Yahoo's stock value and various vesting schedules, Mayer was only able to make about $14 million, or 39% of the total compensation package, it said.

Given all the noise and pressure around the company, Mayer's compensation might seem relatively high. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, for example, was paid around $33 million in 2015, while keeping his company's market value at $50 billion, much higher than Yahoo's $35 billion market cap.

Yet, Benioff had to take a pay cut after hearing complaints from some shareholders about his hefty pay package. Mayer, however, received an 85% approval from Yahoo shareholders, according to the fillings.