Shaquille O’Neal is on the verge of becoming one of the highest-paid broadcasters in sports. According to Front Office Sports, Shaq is set to make $15 million a year in his next contract. The number of years in the deal isn’t known, but if what’s being reported is true, it will make Shaq the seventh-highest paid broadcaster in all of sports.
It would make Shaq part of an exclusive list that includes a who’s who of on-air talent.
1, Tom Brady, FOX, $37.5 million
Thanks to his $375 million deal with FOX Sports, Brady currently ranks first by a wide margin as the highest-paid broadcaster. Critics weren’t very impressed with his early-season performance, but that’s understandable in anyone’s first season having to carry the load. He got noticeably better with more reps, and did an admirable calling his first Super Bowl.
2. Charles Barkley, TNT, $21 million
Shaq’s partner on “Inside the NBA” has been the industry standard for more than a decade and was just able to get a new 10-year, $210 million deal with Turner Sports hammered out in time for their eventual move over to ESPN next season.
3. Stephen A. Smith, ESPN, $20 million
Love him or hate him, you can’t deny Stephen A his rightful place as the premier voice of the four-letter network broadcast. His current deal paying him $12 million a year is ending shortly and multiple outlets are reporting he should soon be signing a new deal in the ballpark of 5 years and $100 million, which would make him the highest-paid personality at ESPN.
T4. Troy Aikman, ESPN, $18 million
ESPN was able to convince the Aikman/Joe Buck duo to move from FOX to ESPN in 2022, paying the Hall of Fame quarterback $90 million over five years. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but after 20 years at FOX, the pair’s now been calling Monday Night Football games for three seasons. Of course, that means a newer, more expensive contract will be coming for Troy pretty soon.
T4. Tony Romo, CBS, $18 million
Romo has been holding down the #1 chair at CBS since signing a 10-year, $180 million deal in 2017 to broadcast. That number was more than $52 million more than he made during his entire 14-year career with the Cowboys. Like Aikman, he has just two years left on his deal as well, so we could have a standoff between ESPN and CBS to see which one of them pays their former Dallas QB more. Stay tuned.
6. Pat McAfee, ESPN, $17 million
Unless you’re a diehard sports radio fan, McAfee virtually came out of nowhere to score a massive payday with ESPN in 2023. That wasn’t too long after he’d taken $120 million from FanDuel. The former Colts punter rode that wave to become the new face of “ESPN College GameDay” and anchors “The Pat McAfee Show” every morning.
T7. Shaquille O’Neal, TNT, $15 million
Here’s where the Big Aristotle now resides. It’s a pretty respectable place to be, especially since he also makes countless millions every year endorsing anywhere between 30 to 50 products and companies. One of the true success stories making the most of his post-playing days.
T7. Joe Buck, ESPN, $15 million
The voice of FOX’s football and baseball coverage for two decades made the jump to ESPN with Aikman and is still seen as one of the best play-by-play men in the business. The son of fellow broadcasting legend Jack Buck still has plenty in the tank, too.
Interestingly, once “Inside the NBA” moves to ESPN later this year, they will have six of the top eight highest-paid broadcasting contracts in sports.
Not much has been revealed about Shaq’s new TNT deal or if ESPN will follow the same format that’s helped them win 19 Sports Emmy Awards.
But one thing is for sure, Shaq continues to prove his worth off the court just as much as he did on it.
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