The highest-paid BBC Sport pundits have been revealed, with some very interesting figures. These days, punditry is almost as important an area of sport as the action that’s unfolding on the pitches, courts and whatever else they’re played on. Listening to figures who are experts on the sports add a certain weight to what fans are watching.
As such, it’s important to get the best pundits you can to cover their respective sports. Sky Sports employ the likes of Gary Neville and Roy Keane to entertain fans both before and after football matches, TNT hired Adam Caterall to cover the UFC and the BBC have got some of the biggest names in sport to provide coverage of their respective games.
Those names didn’t come cheap, though. It’s now been revealed how much the seven highest-paid pundits are at the BBC, and they’re earning some eye-watering figures.
Highest-paid BBC Sport pundits | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Pundit | Salary | Sport |
1 | Gary Lineker | £1.35m | Football |
2 | Alan Shearer | £380,000 | Football |
3 | Mark Chapman | £260,000 | Football & Rugby |
4 | Alex Scott | £220,000 | Football |
5 | John McEnroe | £195,000 | Tennis |
6 | Jonathan Agnew | £190,000 | Cricket |
7 | Chris Sutton | £190,000 | Football |
Chris Sutton
£190,000
Coming in at seventh, just making it onto the list is former Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City striker, Chris Sutton. The ex-forward was once the most expensive footballer in English football history, and now he earns £190,000 providing punditry for the BBC. He also provides commentary for BBC Radio 5 Live as well.
Outside of the BBC, Sutton is also employed as a pundit for Sky Sports and used to work in a similar role for TNT Sport, providing commentary for former club Celtic’s Champions League matches, before leaving in 2023.
Jonathan Agnew
£190,000
Tied with Sutton, making £190,000 on a yearly basis is Jonathan Agnew. The former cricketer, who spent 13 years playing for Leicestershire, while also featuring in three Test matches for his country, first worked for the BBC, covering cricket all the way back in 2001 and has since carved a nice career as a pundit.
He’s not been without his controversy over the years, but Agnew is one of the voices of cricket in the United Kingdom these days and the BBC have certainly got their money’s worth out of the 64-year-old. Still, his salary just about gets him onto this list.
John McEnroe
£195,000
Making slightly more than Sutton and Agnew, John McEnroe is up next on the list. The 65-year-old is one of tennis’ all-time biggest stars. Through his rivalries with Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors, as well as his unique personality on the court, he captured the attention of fans all over the world and, despite retiring from the sport in the 1990s, he’s continued to make a sizeable salary out of it.
After a period where he tried his luck as a musician, McEnroe became a pundit, covering tennis and can be seen working for the BBC for major events such as Wimbledon. His voice is one that holds a lot of weight in tennis and the BBC pay him just under £200,000-a-year to have him provide that voice for their broadcasts.
Alex Scott
£220,000
The first, and only woman on this list, Alex Scott’s profile in football his risen significantly since she retired from active competition and became a pundit. Having had a fine career playing for the likes of Arsenal and England, the 39-year-old hung her boots up in 2018, but had already tested the waters of a career in the media while she was still playing.
She fully embraced that new life once she called it a day on the pitch, though. Now, she works for the BBC, alongside Sky Sports as well. Her work with the former pays quite nicely as well, with Scott taking home around £220,000-a-year.
Mark Chapman
£260,000
The highest-paid pundit who isn’t a former athlete himself is Mark Chapman. The 50-year-old earns £260,000-a-year with the BBC where he works as a presenter on television and radio. He covers both football and rugby through his work with the company. Considering he provides coverage on more than one sport, and he produces content through more than one avenue, it’s safe to say that Chapman is earning every single penny of his current salary.
The presenter is the face of rugby for the BBC, leading almost all of their content on the sport, but also features heavily in the company’s football coverage, such as hosting Match of the Day 2 every week. He also works for Sky Sports, covering the EFL Cup.
Alan Shearer
£380,000
Aside from a very brief stint as Newcastle United manager, Alan Shearer has spent the majority of his time as a pundit for the BBC after he hung his boots up in 2006. Whether it’s on Match of the Day, or working as a commentator throughout major international tournaments as he did during Euro 2024, the former Blackburn Rovers star has become one of the chief voices for the BBC.
As a result, he’s earning quite a handsome fee with the company. Shearer takes home £380,000 every single year through his work with the BBC and after birthing iconic lines on commentary such as ‘pressure is for tyres’, he’s more than doing enough to justify his salary. Still, he makes nowhere near as much as the man sitting one place above him.
Gary Lineker
£1.35m
Lightyears ahead of anyone else, Gary Lineker is the highest-paid BBC Sport pundit. The former Leicester City man has been the host of Match of the Day for 25 years and isn’t far off becoming the longest-running presenter in the show’s history. While he’s rarely worked as a pundit, he has excelled as a presenter and has become the face of BBC Sport.
Lineker makes presenting look effortless and the broadcast company clearly sees plenty of value in him, paying him £1.35m. That’s nearly £1m more than any other pundit on their books. It’s safe to say, the 63-year-old is earning far more money away from the football pitch than he ever did on it.