Salary: $2 million per year
You may not have heard of the name Teddy Atlas, but you would probably recognize him by his distinct facial scar. However, if you don’t, and you’re a boxing fan – this is one person you want to know. Atlas is a boxing trainer and fight commentator with a rough past. He has been around the block and has hung out with some of the most well-known boxers and trainers of all time. Despite a troubled and rebellious youth that led him to get arrested often and even get slashed in the face (causing him to be forever scarred), Teddy Atlas managed to find himself in better circumstances when he got to train with the legendary Hall of Fame boxing trainer – Cus D’Amato.
The Jewish-Irish boxer’s career didn’t last long though – and was cut short by a back injury. Atlas then changed his focus to training boxers rather than participating, and got a chance to help train Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer, Barry McGuigan, and even Timothy Bradley. Atlas also worked as a commentator in various networks including ESPN but was suspended after 21 years of commentating due to various comments and even threatening a crew member. In 2005, Atlas was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, and has since lent his voice to popular boxing game Fight Night Round 4 and Fight Night Champion.
Jonathan Coachman - WWE
Salary: $500,000 per year
WWE pre-show host Jonathan Coachman, also known as "The Coach", has been interviewing, presenting and commentating on WWE matches since 1999. Coachman has been casting on both Smackdown and Raw over the years and even became Interim General Manager of the Raw brand. Outside of WWE, coachman devoted almost a decade to work with ESPN, presenting highlights of the WWE's best moments and interviewing the WWE stars on SportsCenter.
Coachman has a modest Instagram account with just over ten thousand followers. Coachman's father had suffered from heart problems and was facing the risk of death until he was transplanted a new heart by a matching donor. Since the incident, Coachman has decided to pay it forward and helps Saint Luke's Foundation raise money for supporting, researching and educating communities on health-related issues.
Stephen A. Smith - ESPN
Salary: $10 million per year
Stephen A. Smith is a commentator on ESPN's daily American sports talk show First Take along with Max Kellerman and Milly Qerim. The commentator, host, journalist, and actor also appears often as an NBA analyst in both SportsCenter and NBA Countdown, both owned by ESPN. Smith was born in the Bronx in New York City in 1967 and received a basketball scholarship to attend Winston-Salem State University. The sportscaster played college basketball and was coached by Clarence Gaines, the highly decorated Hall of Fame coach until he officially began his media career in 1994 as a writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Smith is well known for using recurring catchphrases as well as his very opinionated personality, especially his strong animosity towards the Dallas Cowboys. His most well-known catchphrase is referring to things that don’t make sense to him as “blasphemous”. Not one to shy away from expressing his opinions, Smith is also a very strong critic of NFL and NBA players' use of marijuana, and loudly tells players to "Stay off the weed!" You can catch his appearance in the 2007 film “I Think I Love My Wife” starring and directed by Chris Rock.
Lisa Guerrero - Inside Edition
Salary: $7 million per year
The famous and talented sportscaster from Chicago made her name as Fox Sports host and journalist. Her exciting career in entertainment began after her father enrolled her in theater lessons, as a way to cope with the loss of her mother when she was just 8 years old.
Guerrero worked hard and managed to build a path for herself, leading her to an exciting career that includes sportscasting, hosting, modeling, writing and even acting. She is currently married to former MLB pitcher Scott Gavin Erickson and works as the host and reporter for the American investigative news TV show, Inside Edition.
Kirk Herbstreit - ESPN
Salary: $4 million per year
Kirk Herbstreit started his career playing football as a quarterback for the Elks and was quickly awarded the "Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year" title as a senior. Herbstreit quickly proved himself as one of his generation's best college football players. The player has since gone to host with Chris Fowler. Since then, he has been racking trophies like crazy and received seven nominations and three Sports Emmy Awards for Best Studio Analyst.
Many fans love the highly decorated sports analyst for his straight and clear analysis and insightful ways of looking at the game that results from his years of experience. He was ranked by Sporting News magazine as one of the "Most Powerful Media personalities in Sports" in 2003. He married his wife Allison in 1998 and the married couple has 4 children, 2 of which are twins and 2 of which currently play football at Clemson University in South Carolina.