Gary Lineker Signs Huge New TV Deal As Richest Sports Presenters Revealed
Gary Lineker has signed a mammoth new TV deal to continue his run as the highest-paid sports presenter in the game.
Lineker became the host of Match of the Day back in 1999 and later became the BBC's highest-paid employee by a considerable margin - earning a reported £1.35 million per year.
The England legend ended his 26-year association with the BBC at the end of last season, presenting Match of the Day for the final time many months after his departure was confirmed.
Lineker was poised to stay on and present FA Cup coverage as well as the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico until he reached a mutual agreement.
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However, it has emerged that Lineker will still have a huge hosting role in North America.
According to The Sun, Lineker has penned a multi-million deal for his Rest is Football podcast to make its way onto Netflix for the World Cup.
The podcast, which features Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, is part of Lineker's Goalhanger production company alongside the Rest is History, the Rest is Entertainment and the Rest is Politics.
It has an audience of more than eight million people on YouTube and is also on Spotify and Apple.
Lineker, Richards and Shearer did shows at Euro 2024 and now Netflix have purchased the rights as part of a big push on podcast content - with an official announcement set for Wednesday.
Lineker's son Harry is set to continue his role in producing the podcast, which will air daily instead of three times a week.
Top 10 richest sports presenters
The exact amount of the deal hasn't been revealed but earlier this year it was reported that Lineker was at the top of the sports presenter rich list by some distance.
The Sun reported earlier this year that Lineker, with his Goalhanger production company raking it in, had a net worth of £30 million.
Next on the list was Kelly Cates, who continues to be a permanent fixture on Sky Sports' Premier League coverage and became one of Lineker's replacements on Match of the Day this season.
Cates' estimate net worth was listed as £8 million, just ahead of her fellow MOTD co-presenters Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan - who were down as £4 million before they moved into their new role.
Mark Pougatch, ITV's leading presenter for football after replacing Adrian Chiles, comes in at fifth on the list with an estimated net worth of £3.5 million - just in front of Sky's David Jones, TNT Sports' Laura Woods and Alex Scott, the former Lioness who presents Football Focus and appeared on this year's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.
Clare Balding, a long-time colleague of Lineker's, complete the list on £1 million.
List in full
10.Clare Balding (BBC) - £1 million
9.Jeff Stelling (talkSPORT) - £2 million
8.Alex Scott (BBC) - £2 million
7.Laura Woods (TNT Sports) - £2.5 million
6.David Jones (Sky Sports) - £3 million
5.Mark Pougatch (ITV) - £3.5 million
4.Gabby Logan (BBC & Amazon Prime) - £4 million
3.Mark Chapman (BBC and Sky Sports) - £4 million
2.Kelly Cates (BBC and Sky Sports) - £8 million
1.Gary Lineker (Rest is Football) - £30 million
Topics: Gary Lineker
Josh Lawless