The top nine highest-paid sports pundits in the UK have been revealed via several reports.
The football scene in the UK is dominated by BBC Sport, Sky Sports and TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video.
In the modern day world of broadcasting, it isn’t uncommon to see pundits work for multiple broadcasters, often on a freelance basis.
For instance, Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and Micah Richards are all regular features on Sky Sports but also have contracts to work for overseas broadcasters. Neville, meanwhile, runs his own YouTube channel, The Overlap.
Richards joins BBC stalwarts Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer on ‘The Rest is Football’ podcast, with Carragher, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott featuring alongside Neville on The Overlap’s ‘Stick to Football’.
It will therefore come as no surprise to see that most of those names feature on the list of highest-paid pundits in the UK.
Earlier this year, Sportscasting published a reported list of the highest-paid pundits.
The BBC, meanwhile, publish their own salaries list for their top-earning employees – although this doesn’t take into account how much they earn from other sources.
Chris Sutton – £190,000 – £194,999
Former Blackburn and Celtic striker Chris Sutton earned between £190,000 and £194,999 – exact figures are not stated – during the reporting period between 2023 and 2024 for the BBC.
Sutton is a regular and popular fixture on BBC Radio 5 Live coverage as a co-commentator, while he also hosts the 606 phone-in with Robbie Savage.
He also works as a pundit for Sky Sports on their coverage of Scottish Premiership football.
Micah Richards – £205,000
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Sportscasting report that Micah Richards earns upwards of £205,000 for his punditry work in 2024.
He earned upwards of £200,000 from the BBC in 2023, although was not included in their 2024 online list which set a minimum earning level of £178,000. As well as featuring on Match of the Day, Richards also covers live football for the broadcaster.
Richards also has prominent roles with Sky Sports and CBS Sports, the latter seeing him work alongside Carragher, Thierry Henry and Kate Abdo.
Gabby Logan – £210,000
Sportscasting also claim that Gabby Logan earns £210,000 in 2024.
The BBC host fronted athletics coverage at the 2024 Olympics, as well as working on Match of the Day and live football broadcasts. Like Richards, however, she does not feature on the BBC’s 2024 salaries list (minimum earnings £178,000), but did earn upwards of £200,000 in 2023.
Logan also fronts Champions League and Premier League coverage for Amazon Prime.
Alex Scott – £220,000 – £224,999
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Former Arsenal star Alex Scott earned upwards of £220,000 during the reporting period for her presenting and punditry work for the BBC.
Although much of that work encompasses football – she is the main host of Football Focus and also fronts Match of the Day 2, FA Cup and Women’s Super League coverage – Scott is also a permanent presenter of The One Show.
Mark Chapman – £260,000 – £264,999
Mark Chapman earns over £260,000 for his presenting work for BBC, where he is the lead presenter for football coverage on Radio 5 Live.
One of the most versatile broadcasters in sport, Chapman also anchors rugby and NFL coverage, and fronts the Carabao Cup for Sky Sports. He was confirmed as one of the hosts for the BBC’s new Champions League highlights programme this season.
Alan Shearer – £380,000 – £384,999
Alan Shearer is the second highest-earning sports pundit or presenter at the BBC – albeit on a pay cut from the previous year – having worked with the broadcaster for more than two decades.
A regular fixture on Match of the Day, Shearer also works on live TV and radio coverage for the FA Cup, and is also employed by Amazon Prime Video as a co-commentator and pundit.
The Newcastle legend took a short break from punditry work in 2009 to replace Joe Kinnear as Magpies manager, but returned to the role after failing to keep his former club in the Premier League.
Jamie Carragher – £1,000,000
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According to Sportscasting, Jamie Carragher will earn around £1 million this year through his work with Sky Sports – where he has helped to revolutionise their football coverage – and CBS Sports.
Carragher is also a regular co-host of The Overlap’s Stick to Football, and is a football columnist for The Telegraph.
Gary Neville – £1,100,000
Sportscasting claim that Gary Neville earns more than his Sky Sports co-star per year.
Neville set up The Overlap YouTube channel in 2022, and is the co-owner of League Two club Salford City alongside several of his Manchester United ‘Class of ’92’ team-mates.
He worked on ITV during their coverage of Euro 2024, with his previous credits also including beIN Sports. During the 2024/25 season, he will make sporadic appearances on the NBC station in the United States.
Gary Lineker – £1,350,000 – £1,354,999
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Gary Lineker was the highest-paid employee at the BBC between the reporting period of 2023 to 2024.
As well as his role as host of Match of the Day – he has been in place now for 25 years – Lineker also works on FA Cup coverage and as a presenter at live BBC events, such as the Sports Personality of the Year awards. In addition, the former Barcelona striker regularly appears on LaLiga TV.