Salary: $300,000 per year
If you’ve been watching MLB on TBS or Inside the NBA on TNT, you’ve most likely had a chance to listen to the commentary of Ernie Johnson Jr. The 3 time Emmy Award-winning sportscaster and father of 6 recently wrote the fantastic autobiography: “Unscripted: The Unpredictable Moments That Make Life Extraordinary”. In the book, Johnson tells his life story and provides many lessons and inspiring tales, including his fight with cancer.
Johnson is also the recipient of the first-ever John Wooden Keys to Life Award and the Musial Award. He currently lives with his wife Cheryl in Braselton, Georgia with their 6 children. By the way, 4 of his kids are adopted. You can enjoy Johnson’s commentary in the popular video-games NBA Live 98, and annually in NBA 2K15, and every year since, all the way through NBA 2K19.
Jim Wych - Sky Sports
Salary: $200,000 per year
Canadian snooker fans love Jim Wych. The 65-year-old former Canadian professional snooker and pocket billiards player won 2 snooker championships during his snooker career, one in 1979 and one in 1999. Wych retired from snooker in 1997 and currently does television commentary on pool and snooker games for Sky Sports. The sportscaster is often interviewed for his predictions before major snooker games.
He is appreciated for his moderate and self-controlled commentary. He was born in Calgary, Alberta in 1954 and officially began his snooker career at age 25 - winning his first championship that very same year.
Kevin Calabro - ESPN
Salary: $200,000 per year
Kevin Calabro, best known as the 21-year veteran announcer of the Seattle SuperSonics, is loved by fans for his glowing enthusiasm and eccentricity. The announcer often discusses topics that are completely unrelated to sports during games such as his favorite show, The Wire, and various trivia topics. The award-winning veteran broadcaster joined Portland Trail Blazers as a play-by-play broadcaster in 2016 after spending 21 years as a TV and radio announcer for the former Seattle SuperSonics.
His many honors and awards include the 2016 Keith Jackson Western Sports Star of the Year award. He has also done extensive and highly acclaimed reporting for many sports networks including ESPN, TBS, TNT, and NBA TV. Calabro also appears in many sports video-games such as NBA Inside Drive, NBA Full Court Press, and NFL Fever. His brother, David Calabro, is also a sportscaster and works with the NBC affiliate station WTHR.
Dan Patrick - NBC Sports
Salary: $5.5 million per year
Famous radio host, actor, and sportscaster Dan Patrick has been a favorite in the public ear for the last 40 years. He worked at ESPN from 1989 to 2006 as an anchor, while also hosting The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio from 1,999 to 2007. During a 2007 episode of his radio show, Patrick announced he would be leaving ESPN to go on his own and be a free agent, claiming that he was starting to take his job at ESPN for granted. Since then, the successful media personality joined NBC Sports as co-host of Football Night in America and stayed with the network until 2018 after turning down a contract he was offered.
Patrick met his wife while working at CNN, and was inducted into the Mason High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. He also went on to make many appearances on film and television thanks to his friendship with actor Adam Sandler, and even appeared in music videos twice.
Joe Tessitore - ESPN
Salary: $2.3 million per year
The play-by-play broadcaster of Monday Night Football and co-analyst with Booger McFarland, Joe Tessitore is an accomplished sports broadcaster and was a finalist twice for Sports Illustrated's Sports Media Person of the Year entry. Tessitore's announcing style has been a fan favorite over the years and has captivated audiences since early in his career. His signature charisma and commentary style have often been dubbed "the Tess Effect" for causing big movements in the social media landscape whenever he announces a game.
Born in Schenectady, New York in 1971, he began his career as a sports anchor fairly early at just 23 years old when he became a sports broadcaster for KXAS-TV in 1994. Since then, he became a boxing announcer on ESPN during Tuesday and Friday Night Fights, and would also go on to appear in college football and college basketball games. Tessitore has also produced various documentaries for ESPN's 30 for 30 show, and took the role of executive producer for the ESPN critically acclaimed film "Roll Tide, War Eagle".