-Based Compensation

In March 2006, the Company's Board of Directors approved the Steven Madden, Ltd. 2006 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (the “Plan”), under which nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, performance shares, restricted stock, other stock-based awards, and performance-based cash awards may be granted to employees, consultants and non-employee directors. The following table summarizes the number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance under the Plan, the number of stock-based awards granted (net of expired or cancelled awards) under the Plan and the number of shares of common stock available for the grant of stock-based awards under the Plan:



Common stock authorized	23,466,000
Stock-based awards, including restricted stock and stock options granted, net of expired or cancelled	(21,795,000	)
Common stock available for grant of stock-based awards as of September 30, 2017	1,671,000

Total equity-based compensation for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 is as follows:



	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Restricted stock	$	3,902	$	4,177	$	12,540	$	12,417
Stock options	1,005		805		3,140		2,201
Total	$	4,907	$	4,982	$	15,680	$	14,618

Equity-based compensation is included in operating expenses on the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.

Stock Options

Cash proceeds and intrinsic values related to total stock options exercised during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 are as follows:



	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Proceeds from stock options exercised	$	5,663	$	1,162	$	11,312	$	4,869
Intrinsic value of stock options exercised	$	1,220	$	634	$	4,729	$	11,684

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, options to purchase approximately 56,355 shares of common stock with a weighted average exercise price of $34.72 and options to purchase approximately 349,030 shares of common stock with a weighted average exercise price of $33.35 vested, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, options to purchase approximately 21,006 shares of common stock with a weighted average exercise price of $32.72 and options to purchase approximately 261,715 shares of common stock with a weighted average exercise price of $31.92 vested, respectively. As of September 30, 2017, there were unvested options relating to 1,294,680 shares of common stock outstanding with a total of $9,449 of unrecognized compensation cost and an average vesting period of 4.6 years.

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to estimate the fair value of options granted, which requires several assumptions. The expected term of the options represents the estimated period of time until exercise and is based on the historical experience of similar awards. Expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock. The risk

free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of the grant. The Company historically has not paid regular cash dividends and thus the expected dividend rate is assumed to be zero. The following weighted average assumptions were used for stock options granted during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016:

Note J – Equity-Based Compensation (continued)



	2017	2016
Volatility	23.0% to 26.4%	22.2% to 26.2%
Risk free interest rate	1.48% to 1.99%	0.86% to 1.73%
Expected life in years	3.4 to 5.0	3.4 to 5.0
Dividend yield	0.00%	0.00%
Weighted average fair value	$8.91	$7.01

Activity relating to stock options granted under the Company’s plans and outside the plans during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 is as follows:



	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term	Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at January 1, 2017	1,499,000		$	29.72
Granted	1,054,000		37.53
Exercised	(405,000	)	27.39
Forfeited	(8,000	)	35.02
Outstanding at September 30, 2017	2,140,000		$	33.98	4.6 years	$	19,937
Exercisable at September 30, 2017	846,000		$	29.45	2.5 years	$	11,713

Restricted Stock

The following table summarizes restricted stock activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016:



	2017				2016
	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Fair Value at Grant Date		Number of Shares		Weighted Average Fair Value at Grant Date
Non-vested at January 1,	4,191,000		$	25.93	4,055,000		$	25.32
Granted	259,000		37.38		377,000		34.22
Vested	(213,000	)	33.25		(193,000	)	30.44
Forfeited	(34,000	)	35.08		—		—
Non-vested at September 30,	4,203,000		$	26.19	4,239,000		$	25.93

As of September 30, 2017, the Company had $66,808 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to restricted stock awards granted under the Plan. This cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average of 5.6 years. The Company determines the fair value of its restricted stock awards based on the market price of its common stock on the date of grant.

On January 3, 2012, the Company and its Creative and Design Chief, Steven Madden, entered into an amendment of Mr. Madden’s existing employment agreement, pursuant to which, on February 8, 2012, Mr. Madden was granted 1,463,057 restricted shares of

the Company’s common stock at the then market price of $27.34, which will vest in equal annual installments over a seven-year period commencing on December 31, 2017 and, thereafter, on each December 31 through December 31, 2023, subject to Mr.

Note J – Equity-Based Compensation (continued)

Madden’s continued employment on each such vesting date. On June 30, 2012, Mr. Madden exercised his right under his employment agreement to receive an additional restricted stock award, and, on July 3, 2012, he was granted 1,893,342 restricted shares of the Company's common stock at the then market price of $21.13, which will vest in the same manner as the aforementioned grant. On August 8, 2016, pursuant to the employment agreement, Mr. Madden was granted an option to purchase 150,000 shares

of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $34.42 per share, which option became exercisable in equal quarterly installments commencing on November 8, 2016. On July 20, 2017, pursuant to his employment agreement, Mr. Madden was granted an option to purchase 150,000 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $40.15 per share, which option is exercisable in equal quarterly installments commencing on October 20, 2017.