The Salaries Of Your Favorite Sports Analysts Will Get You Ready For The Game
Any sports fan will tell you that those reporters and analysts on the sidelines contribute significantly to their enjoyment of the game. Personalities like Erin Andrews and Mike Golic breathe life into these competitive matches as few others can. They make millions covering events like the Super Bowl or the NBA Finals, but it doesn't come easy. How much do sports analysts earn in salary, and who gets paid the most?
$5 Million - Mike Golic
Any avid sports fan will tell you how much he or she enjoys the Mike & Mike radio show. The show is a staple over at ESPN and has been for over 15 years. Golic, along with Mike Greenburg, brings much-needed energy to everyone's mornings with their show.
The former NFL player also works as an analyst for ESPN and ESPN2's coverage of college and NFL football. Whenever you hear or see Golic talking sports, you can bet it's going to be good.
$500,000 - Molly Qerim
Molly Qerim first rose to prominence when she took over as the moderator for ESPN's First Take. The anchor works alongside a few others we will get to later, and has helped push the show to become one of the highest-rated sports talk shows on TV.
Before landing the ESPN gig, Qerim hosted NFL AM and NFL Fantasy Live on NFL Network. She's covered all the major sporting events like the NBA Draft and the Super Bowl during her time in the sports world.
$4.9 Million - Samantha Ponder
Samantha Ponder used to be a sideline reporter, but now she's become one of ESPN's most recognizable talents. The sportscaster is one of the highest-paid women in sports media thanks to her savvy football reporting.
She's the current host of ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, which is one of the networks most-watched segments. Before that, she worked as a host and reporter for ESPN's college football. She's done coverage for basketball as well, which helped expand her portfolio.
$6 Million - Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd might be Fox Sports 1's leading man. Cowherd is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in sports talk television, so his salary should be on the higher side. He joined ESPN in 2003, and after working hard, he generated enough leverage to land his own TV show, but on a different network.
Beginning in 2015, he left ESPN for Fox Sports to host The Herd with Colin Cowherd. There, he shares his objective and subjective insights that the world can't get enough of hearing.
$2 Million - Erin Andrews
As one of the most successful women in sports media, Erin Andrews got her start at ESPN in 2004 after working as a freelance reporter. She covers many different sports such as hockey, basketball, baseball, but she's most known for her NFL coverage.
Currently, Andrews is the lead sideline reporter for Fox NFL. She's covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and does so in a remarkable fashion. If any aspiring analysts need someone to learn from, tune into Andrews!
$235,000 - Lisa Salters
Lisa Salters is a veteran at ESPN. She's been involved with sports as long as anyone on this list has. That has improved the level of respect people have for her. Salters was a collegiate basketball player and pursued broadcasting after graduating.
One of her significant moments was when she had the opportunity to cover the O.J. Simpson murder trial all those years ago. Not only has she covered the Olympics, but she's also done coverage for the Super Bowl and World Cup.
$6 Million - Al Michaels
While ESPN might be the most prominent sports network, Al Michaels is the most well-known figure for NBC Sports. His claim to fame comes from his extensive experience from the play-by-play calling of NFL games. That includes two decades with ABC's Monday Night Football.
Not many can say they've been apart of so many classic sports moments. Michaels made calls for the Miracle on Ice during the '80 Winter Olympics and the earthquake-interrupted game during the 1989 World Series.
$6 Million - Skip Bayless
Many folks remember Skip Bayless primarily from his time as an analyst for ESPN's First Take. He and Stephen A. Smith would have countless battles with their words, but that eventually came to an end. Bayless thought it was time to move on and he found himself on Fox Sports in 2016.
Now, he does his dirty work with Shannon Sharpe on their show Skip and Shannon: Undisputed. Since 1999, Bayless has provided the sports world with his unique perspective, and that's why he gets the big bucks.
$6 Million - Michael Wilbon
If you want to discuss veterans of the sports analyst world, then Michael Wilbon is who you bring up. After spending more than three decades at the Washington Post, Wilbon made a move to ESPN in 2001.
He came on and co-hosted a fan-favorite segment, Pardon the Interruption with Tony Kornheiser. Outside of that show, he spends his time as an NBA studio analyst for ESPN and ABC. You can always bet you'll see him on the sidelines of the big NBA matchups.
$200,000 - Cassidy Hubbarth
Cassidy Hubbarth is one of the newer faces to grace the world of sports analytics, but she's already doing a stellar job. She worked as a host and reporter for the Big Ten Network and worked hard until she won a Southeast Emmy for her work with SEC Gridiron Live.
That was all before she got onboard with ESPN and began doing bigger broadcasts. These include NBA Tonight, First Take, Sportscenter, and many more. Hubbarth also receives a lot of love in the Chicago area, as she used to be a producer for the WMAQ NBC5 Network in the Windy City.
$78,200 - Rosalyn Gold-Onwude
Rosalyn Gold-Onwude is a Stanford graduate who began gaining steam during the Golden State Warriors' 2014-15 championship year. After graduation, she worked for Tesla Motors for a while before venturing off into the sports realm for good. She's since worked with TNT and PAC-12 Network.
During her time at Stanford, she was a great player. She was great enough of a player to make the Nigerian National team too! "As a woman of color in sports broadcasting, I want to do good work and have a positive, visible influence," she said.
$6 Million - Joe Buck
Did you know there was a National Sportscaster of the Year award? If you were a fan of Joe Buck, then you would be aware that he's won that honor three times already. He's been a play-by-play announcer for every World Series since 1996.
The legendary analyst has also called the U.S. Open (golf) since 2015. He's become a staple in modern broadcasting since picking up where his father, Jack Buck left off. He chose to do the right thing by following in his dad's footsteps.
$800,000 - Holly Rowe
As one of the prominent women faces at ESPN, Holly Rowe has been doing her job miraculously since 1998. For the past few decades, she's covered numerous postseason bowl games, regular-season games, and has done plenty play-by-play broadcasting.
Her niche is college football, but she steps outside of that realm to cover men's and women's college basketball, the Running of the Bulls, and track & field. Call her a swiss army knife if you will.
$1 Million - Leeann Tweeden
Leeann Tweeden is one of the more versatile talents in sports media. Tweeden is a model, sports commentator, and radio broadcaster. She took off in modeling after winning the Venus International Model Search. Winning opened up the door for her in the media industry.
She had her own Fox Sports show for six years. In 2008, Tweeden became the third hostess for NBC's Poker After Dark series. She's dabbled UFC and baseball as well during her career.
$1 Million - Pam Oliver
Pam Oliver has been in the game for over 30 years now. The Fox Sports staple started out bouncing around local stations for almost a decade before joining ESPN in 1993. Two years after that, she jumped ship for Fox Sports where she would be a sideline reporter alongside John Madden.
In 2005, she worked her way up to TNT and did coverage for the NBA playoffs. There really isn't anything that Oliver hasn't done during her wonderous career. She currently reports from the sideline for Fox's NFL team.
$800,000 - Wendi Nix
Wendi Nix began her career in sports as a sports anchor for a local Boston network. She then went from Fox Sports Net to New England Sports Network and WPDE in South Carolina.
Now, Nix is the current co-host for ESPN's number one program, NFL Live. She's certainly come a long way and isn't far off from securing that million-dollar salary range like many other of her peers. Her primary role is to cover NFL games.
$10 Million - Stephen A. Smith
"They weren't in Archdale, North Carolina, like I was, living on tuna fish and Kool-Aid, doing editorial assistance work during the day and at night covering high school sports in North Carolina for zero," Stephan A. Smith said.
Smith has come a long way from living off fish to becoming the highest-paid on-air sports personality at ESPN. He began building his buzz early on with the Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith show on ESPN, but now his main focus is First Take.
$1.5 Million - Rachel Nichols
According to Hollywood Mask, ESPN sports broadcaster Rachel Nichols earns a whopping $1.5 million. She started her career in sports journalism right out of college, covering sports for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
She began working for ESPN in 2004 and stayed with the network for nine years, appearing on Sportscenter, Monday Night Countdown, and more. After briefly leaving for CNN, Nichols is back at ESPN and has a net worth of $10 million.
$1 Million - Charissa Thompson
When it comes to huge personalities, Charissa Thompson is very personable. The Fox Sports' media person has spent time with ESPN, the Big Ten Network, and GSN. She has one of the most impressive resumes in the industry.
She left ESPN and SportsNation for Fox Sports 1 and made her debut the first day the network did in 2013. Outside of sports, she's co-hosted the entertainment news show Extra and Ultimate Beastmaster. A unicorn would be the best adjective to describe her.
$25 Million - Terry Bradshaw
Hall of Fame quarterback and Fox Sports NFL analyst Terry Bradshaw is worth an estimated $25 million. While he didn't make "modern NFL money" during his play days, he did use his four Super Bowl wins to transition to a highly respected career in broadcasting.
His yearly salary is worth a reported $2 million. Add in endorsement deals and his reality television show and it's not hard to see how Bradshaw has grown his net worth over the decades.
