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Football is inherently one of the most popular American sports. Fans from all over the U.S. tune in to watch the epic matchups take place every Sunday night. But what would the sport be without its famed announcers, some of which receive salaries far higher than many of the players?
In this article, we’ll discuss the highest-paid NFL announcers, including of course Tom Brady, who is an outlier when it comes to financial comparisons. From here, we’ll list the top 10 best-paid people in the world of NFL media from color and studio analysts to play-by-play announcers in the modern-day NFL, and list their salaries.
Mike Tirico is a highly respected and versatile sports broadcaster, serving as the lead NFL play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports since 2022. He had to wait for a number of years as backup to Al Michaels, but since Al moved to Amazon has become the voice of Sunday Night Football. Known for his articulate and engaging style, Tirico brings decades of experience from covering major sporting events, including the Olympics, NBA, and college football.
Jim Nantz is one of the most iconic voices in sports broadcasting, serving as the lead NFL play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports since 2004. Known for his smooth and polished delivery, Nantz is a staple of CBS’s marquee NFL games, including coverage of the AFC Championship and multiple Super Bowls, most recently Super Bowl LV in 2021. Nantz and Tony Romo have formed a winning partnership in the booth in recent years, helped by their friendship away from the cameras.
Stephen A. Smith may not be to everyone’s taste, but he has become one of the most prominent and outspoken personalities in sports media, working as a lead analyst and commentator for ESPN. Best known for his role on First Take, Smith offers passionate and often polarizing insights on the NFL and other major sports.
Falling short of veteran Al Michaels’ pay by just $1.5 million, Cris Collinsworth is another highly renowned NFL announcer, and one of the highest paid at that, receiving a salary of around $12.5 million for sports announcing. In 2009 after John Madden retired from his ‘Sunday Night Football’ role, Collinsworth took his place, serving as a popular color analyst alongside both Al Michaels and Mike Trico, just a few of the other highest-paid NFL announcers… besides Tom Brady.
Al Michaels is one of the most well-known and beloved NFL play callers around, with a salary of $15 million making him one of the highest paid NFL announcers of all time. Impressively from an outsider’s perspective, Michaels announced for baseball, hockey, and even boxing before becoming one of the most well-known announcers in the NFL. Al has also called the Super Bowl more than any other current announcer. Michaels is currently the face of Thursday Night Football for Amazon and at 80 years young he is still going strong.
Coming up next is Joe Buck, an ESPN NFL announcer who makes approximately $15 million in salary. Before joining ESPN and announcing for the NFL though, Buck primarily worked on MLB and NFL games at Fox network. While Tom Brady throws a wrench in average announcer pay, $15 million is insanely high, and Buck is only nudged out slightly by his partner in a crime Troy Aikman.
In between the color analysts and play callers we have Michael Strahan, whose work in the FOX studio earns him an estimated $17 million a year. Strahan has been a fixture in the FOX studios for 16 years, and although he has talked about slowing down his work commitments over the next couple of years the 53-year-old is still going strong for now.
Tony Romo, another veteran Dallas Cowboys quarterback now serving as an NFL announcer, makes a salary of around $18 million. Upon retiring from the Cowboys, Romo became the lead color analyst for CBS in 2017. Having such a reputable name and career made CBS want to sign him for exactly that, to which he’d make a whopping $18 million from sports announcing. Before the 2021 season, Romo signed a 10-year $180 million deal which means he’ll earn $18 million a year each season onward from 2023.
Very similar to Joe Bucks pay, Troy Aikman serves an $18,5 million contract as an announcer for the NFL. He is one of two former Cowboys quarterbacks who made a career out of announcing in the modern-era NFL (along with Tony Romo). It makes complete sense that former players, specifically quarterbacks, make the most money when given a sports announcing contract, as part of the high fee that comes with signing the star player and all the attention that comes with it. Still both Aikman and Buck make extremely high pay of around $18 million and $15 million respectively, meaning that theirs is a pretty expensive booth!
Of course, the legendary New England Patriots veteran quarterback Tom Brady receives special treatment for his years of service to the NFL, receiving a $37.5 million contract for simply being a sports announcer. He’s got a lot to learn in the sports announcer’s world, but he gets top billing here, as he did so often on the playing field. Despite some early hiccups, it’s looking like Brady is developing into a good analyst on TV, but whether he will justify that pay-check remains to be seen!
Here is the list of top 20 NFL media earners, whose roles include play-by-play announcer, analysts, and sideline reporters:
| Rank | Name | Network | Role | Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Brady | FOX | Lead Analyst | $37.5 million |
| 2 | Troy Aikman | ESPN | Lead Analyst | $18.5 million |
| 2 | Tony Romo | CBS | Lead Analyst | $18 million |
| 4 | Michael Strahan | FOX | Studio Analyst | $17 million |
| 5= | Joe Buck | ESPN | Play-by-Play | $15 million |
| 5= | Al Michaels | Amazon Prime | Play-by-Play | $15 million |
| 7 | Cris Collinsworth | NBC | Lead Analyst | $12.5 million |
| 8= | Stephen A. Smith | ESPN | Analyst | $12 million |
| 8= | Jim Nantz | CBS | Play-by-Play | $12 million |
| 10 | Mike Tirico | NBC | Play-by-Play | $10.5 million |
| 11= | Kevin Burkhardt | FOX | Play-by-Play | $10 million |
| 11= | Kirk Herbstreit | Amazon Prime | Analyst | $10 million |
| 13 | Skip Bayless | FOX Sports | Analyst | $8 million |
| 14 | Colin Cowherd | FOX Sports | Analyst | $6 million |
| 15= | Shannon Sharpe | Undisputed | Analyst | $3 million |
| 15= | Greg Olsen | FOX | No. 2 Analyst | $3 million |
| 15= | Chris Berman | ESPN | Studio Host | $3 million |
| 18 | Kurt Warner | NFL Network | Studio Analyst | $2.5 million |
| 19= | Boomer Esiason | CBS Sports | Studio Analyst | $2 million |
| 19= | Terry Bradshaw | FOX | Studio Analyst | $2 million |
| 19= | Erin Andrews | FOX | Sideline Reporter | $2 million |
Note: Salaries are based on reported figures and may vary due to contract specifics and additional roles.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.