The small amount of research completed on executive pay disparity provides contradictory results as to the relationship with firm performance. To reconcile disparate findings, I utilize behavioral and economic rationale to illuminate the conflicting incentive and collaborative components of large pay disparity between the top management team and the chief executive officer, proposing a nonlinear relationship. Additionally, I address how similarity of the top management team to the chief executive officer amplifies both positive and negative reactions to exorbitant pay disparity, creating a more acute relationship.