Highest Earning Football Pundits 2024 – Sky Sports Duo Trumped By Gary Lineker’s Lucrative BBC Deal

Such is the importance of the media in football’s ultra-saturated landscape that those at the very apex of punditry command substantial salaries. See the highest earning football pundits of 2024, and how much they receive for their services.

Despite Sky Sports and TNT having the capital to blow the rest of the broadcasting arena out of the water, the highest earning pundits are largely made up of BBC employees.

Sky do of course reserve a sizeable chunk of their payroll for perhaps the preeminent pundits on UK television.

Highest Earning Football Pundits 2024

Ian Wright – £150,000 Per-Year

The people’s favourite? You’d be hard pushed to find many who don’t enjoy Ian Wright’s larger-than-life antics on TV and beyond.

The former Arsenal striker has been a permanent fixture on our screens since making his first appearance on Match of the Day in 1997; interestingly, he was still actively playing at that stage.

He has since gone on to appear regularly for the BBC and ITV, as well as sporadic guest appearances on American television with CBS.

Whether its the pure histrionics of watching his beloved Arsenal, or the cackling laugh after sending a jibe across the punditry table – it is hard not to love ‘Uncle Wrighty.’

Before taking a pay cut in 2020, he was believed to have earned in excess of £200,000 per-year for his media duties, but this now sits at an estimated £150,000.

Micah Richards – £205,000 Per-Year

There are few more hard-working people in football media than Micah Richards, who is a multi-channel personality.

While his playing career may have been cut short by a blight of injuries, Richards has more than made up for it by forging a hugely successful television career.

Sky Sports, BBC and the hugely popular CBS show are all fortunate enough to have him on their broadcasts. Few are better equipped to deal with the sourness of British punditry than Richards, who offers the perfect juxtaposition to the scaremongering antics of the likes of Roy Keane.

He is believed to earn north of £200,000 for his roles on the BBC and Sky Sports. His salary for CBS is yet to be divulged, so this figure could well be an underestimation.

Gabby Logan – £210,000

The only female pundit on this list, Gabby Logan has been a regular feature across a multitude of broadcasts.

While her speciality lies in gymnastics having been competed in her formative years, Logan has become synonymous with leading BBC and ITV football broadcasts.

Having also worked on Sky Sports for a number of years, she has grown to become a leading figure in sports broadcasting in the UK, offering inspiration for female journalists hoping to break into a notoriously male-dominated job market.

As one of the BBC’s leading presents, she is handsomely rewarded for her endeavours at £210,000 per-year.

Mark Chapman – £250,000

A true jack-of-all-trades, Mark Chapman has made a habit out of becoming an expert on whichever sport he is covering – whether it be the NFL, the Olympics or his beloved football.

Much like Logan, he is chiefly a presenter, but his ability to interject with knowledgable bites of his own makes broadcasts feel refreshingly conversational.

A figurehead for the BBC, Chapman is now essential to their set-up – he has helped produce coverage for the Olympics, the BBC’s weekly NFL round-up show, as well as leading presenting duties for major international football tournaments.

£250,000 per-annum is a salary befitting of his stature.

Alan Shearer – £450,000

Marking a significant jump as we enter the top four, Alan Shearer reportedly pockets just shy of half-a-million pounds for his role at the BBC.

Aside from regular columns on The Athletic, the former Newcastle marksman is best-known for being a permanent fixture on BBC’s Match of the Day, where he typically offers fascinating analysis into the minds of strikers and defenders alike.

Shearer also keeps himself busy alongside Micah Richards  and Gary Lineker in their ‘The Rest is Football’ podcast, as well leading punditry across major international tournaments.

🗣️ @MicahRichards: “That’s a marvellous team!”

Fair to say you lot all cooked when picking your England XI 👏 https://t.co/bv26DuKvE9 pic.twitter.com/WAZBaFxGaz

— The Rest Is Football (@RestIsFootball) October 14, 2024

Jamie Carragher – £1million

The big bucks now as we enter the seven-figure region.

Former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher may be slightly aggrieved he reportedly earns slightly less than his colleague and punditry partner-in-crime Gary Neville, but £1million per-year is almost a continuation of the sky-high wages he pocketed as a player.

One of the leading faces of Sky’s Premier League coverage, Carragher’s perfect blend of anecdotal analysis and tongue-in-cheek banter makes him ideal for television.

He is also part of CBS’ hugely comical quartet alongside Micah Richards, Thierry Henry and Kate Abdo.

Gary Neville – £1.1million

Few could have pictured Gary Neville blossoming into a commanding voice on football in his early playing days, but the ex-Manchester United right-back is about as good as it gets when it comes to in-depth analysis and football predictions.

Neville is primarily a Sky Sports pundit, leading their Premier League coverage and also his own self-titled podcast in conjunction with the UK’s main broadcaster.

He also is known to frequent terrestrial channels such as the BBC and ITV during international tournaments.

A wealthy hotel owner and business away from his media duties, Neville’s net worth is bolstered by a hefty £1.1m per-year solely for his media duties.

Gary Lineker – £1.3million

“It’s about value to the audience in the end, and whether we think that it’s the right person for the job, with the right level of experience, with the right ability to present in a way that is really accessible, enjoyable and entertaining.”

Those were the words of BBC Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore, who defended the BBC’s decision to make Gary Lineker their highest paid employer.

“What’s more concerning is I’m 4/1 to replace you!”

Petition to get Big Meeks to present the next MOTD? 🤣 pic.twitter.com/35OfB4zpEa

— The Rest Is Football (@RestIsFootball) October 7, 2024

The former England sharpshooter has been BBC Sport’s highest paid presenter since joining the broadcaster in 1999, and has been their lead anchor for flagship shows such as Match of the Day and matchday coverage of international tournaments.

Whoever follows in Lineker’s footsteps will have an incredibly tall order on their hands – the 63-year-old is the perfect moderator for punditry panels, and his experience as one of England’s finest ever strikers compliments his nonchalant presenting style.