Why did Gary Lineker take pay cut? BBC presenter earned more in 2020 than 2023

BBC presenter Gary Lineker is the broadcaster’s highest-earning star, according to the corporation’s 2023 annual report. He took home £1.35 million over the last year.

Despite the impressive amount, Lineker actually earned more in 2020 than he is currently doing at the moment. Lineker earned £1.75 million in 2020. he was taken off air earlier this year after tweeting about government immigration policy. However, he was soon swiftly reinstated.

The Match of the Day presenter’s pay has remained static from the previous year. His pay for 2022-23 included his pay for hosting last year’s World Cup from Qatar.

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Why did Gary Lineker take pay cut?

Lineker was not the only one at BBC to accept cuts to his salary, what with the broadcaster coming under intense pressure to slash its wage bill for top talent in recent years. BBC’s talent bill has risen to its highest in the last six years.

The BBC attributed the rise to presenters returning to pre-pandemic levels of work. All the top biggest earners at the corporations had seen an overall fall in their respective paychecks.

Radio 2 breakfast show host Zoe Ball, who took the second place on the list current list of BBC salaries, earning £980,000, also took a big hit when it comes to her income. She took a £380,000 pay cut in 2021 when she signed a contract for a two-year deal for the Breakfast Show.

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Due to a BBC “talent drain.” fewer big names feature on the main list. Names like Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, and Andrew Marr, are off the pay-roll and have been left off the list because they left to front podcasts and radio shows for BBC rival Global.

The talent pay bill will be scrutinized, given the financial difficulties that BBC continues to face. In order to find over £400 million in annual cost savings by the end of 2027-28, around 1,000 hours of programming will be cut.