The BBC have released their Annual Report for 2026, which features a reduction in salary for two of their biggest football voices
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer’s salaries were cut by the BBC
Two of the BBC‘s top-earning football pundits and presenters have been handed significant pay cuts after the latest salary figures were released by the broadcaster. Gary Lineker, the former host of Match of the Day after leaving May 2025, and Alan Shearer were heavily impacted by the drops in pay, according to the BBC’s Annual Report.
The former England footballer and long-time presenter was once the BBC ‘s highest-earning media figure. However, the 65-year-old has dropped to 15th on the list after leaving the BBC in May 2025.
In the last annual report, Lineker’s salary was listed as being between £1.35 million and £1.354m in the last annual report. In this period, Lineker earned between £325,000 and £329,999 for the year to March 2026.
Lineker’s 2025/2026 earnings came from his work on the Match Of The Day highlights show and other football coverage. His former MOTD colleague Alan Shearer, who remains a key part of the public broadcasting service’s football coverage, saw his pay fall from the £440,000 to £449,999 range to £390,000 and £394,999.
That means ex-Newcastle icon Shearer has dropped to sixth on the list. That is despite the fact that the 55-year-old remains a pivotal part of their commentary team and worked for the channel during the 2026 World Cup.
Micah Richards, Lineker and Shearer’s co-host on The Rest is Football, did not make the list despite working for BBC during the World Cup. The only other sports figure to make the list was England cricket hero Michael Vaughn, who collected £185,000 to £189,999 for his work on their TV and Ashes Podcast.
Lineker’s Match of the Day replacement Mark Chapman has been the frontal figure of their World Cup coverage. Chapman, who also presents Sky Sports Premier League games, cashed in his pay slip of £335,000 to £339,999 for his BBC efforts.
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Another presenter, Jason Mohammed, raked in £290,000 to £294,999 for his work across Football Focus and FA Cup matches. Despite the BBC’s efforts to reduce the gender gap, there appears to be significant margins between the earnings of male and female presenters. while his MOTD co-host Kelly Cates got £215,000 to £219,999.
The BBC’s highest-earning woman sports presenter was Gabby Logan. Logan, 53, has long been a key part of the broadcaster’s coverage for football, the Olympics, Rugby Union and other sports, and she was handed a salary of £290,000 to £294,999.
Alex Scott was the only football-only female figure to earn above the £174,999 threshold where salaries must be revealed. Scott, 41, has led their Football Focus programme as well as taking a prominent role for their Women’s Super League and Sports Personality of the Year coverage.
As a result, Scott banked a salary between £195,000 and £199,999 for her efforts. That still represents a 38.4 per cent difference on the minimum salary Lineker earned and the maximum Scott took home.
Former BBC Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills was the corporation’s highest earner until his sacking in March. The 53-year-old earned between £745,000 and £749,999 for the year ending in March 2026.
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