3. Gary Lineker - £2 Million A Year - Match Of The Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnl4P48vcJU I like Gary Lineker. I like Match of the Day. The problem is, many people don't, which in truth is the reason that the BBC don't go splashing the cash on live football rights. It's a hard one for them to get right. Big games do big ratings, so public interest is clearly there, though. The problem is that the cost of showing live football is ridiculous: BT recently paid nearly £900 million for Champions League rights - a figure that couldn't very well be justified to none football fans paying the license fee. Lineker's £2 million salary (one of the highest BBC talent costs) is the same issue. If you don't like football, then what a waste of your money. Is it too much? Probably. Hidden away in a half ten slot, many football fans will have already paid to see their team at the ground or on Sky. Lineker gets his thick pay pack for simply turning up to work and offering a few transitional comments between footage - the highlights being what fans are really tuning in for. The show wouldn't be significantly hurt by a cheaper talent in the presenter role. In considering Lineker being overpaid, bear in mind his contract also allows him to work for foreign channels in live presenting roles. It isn't as if this contract is securing Lineker's sole focus - he is lining his pockets elsewhere. Judging by comments admiring BT Sport for their ambition, perhaps he will be jumping ship soon anyway.