Salary: $4 million per year
One of the most impressive personalities in the NFL and entertainment media is Jimmy Johnson. From winning 2 consecutive Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993 as head coach for the Dallas Cowboys to appearing in many commercials and even being one of the 20 castaways in the reality show Survivor: Nicaragua. Johnson also owns a restaurant named “Three Rings”, after the three championships he won throughout his career. He also had a few short stints in TV shows and films, like his guest appearance as a bearded prisoner in The Shield and his small role in Adam Sandler’s film, “The Waterboy”.
After leaving his role as head coach for the Miami Dolphins due to an embarrassing loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Johnson went on to become a TV studio analyst for Fox Sports and Fox NFL Sunday. In 2009, Jimmy Johnson hosted a special episode of FOX NFL Sundays with Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, and others in an undisclosed military installation in Afghanistan right before veteran’s day.
Bill Walton - ESPN
Salary: $5 million per year
With over 100,000 Twitter followers, Bill Walton is still very much an active participant in the NBA scene at age 66. The retired NBA player had a legendary career back in his day, with an NBA Most Valuable Player pick and two NBA Championships, he was an obvious inductee for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, Walton had to retire in the late '80s due to repeated sports injuries. In his NBA career, he played a total of 90 games for the Celtics with an average of 55% shooting rate and a total of 468 games in his entire career.
Walton began working for CBS, NBC, and ESPN as a broadcaster, it wasn't easy though. He reported having suffered a serious stuttering issue when he was just 28 years old and had to overcome it before being able to get paid for his voice rather than his skills on the court. In 2003, he debuted his own show called "Bill Walton's Long Strange Trip" on ESPN. Walton also became acclaimed as a broadcaster and received an Emmy Award for "Best Live Sports Television Broadcast" and the CoSIDA Dick Enberg Award. In 2016, he released a memoir of his life called "Back from the Dead: Searching for the Sound, Shining the Light and Throwing It Down". The book was a New York Times bestseller for 2 weeks. He also appeared briefly in the popular film "Ghostbusters" and various NBA video games.
Kenny Smith - CBS
Salary: $16 million per year
Most of us know him as the former NBA player "The Jet" and for good reason. Kenny Smith, the 2 time NBA champion was indeed one of the faster and most accurate basketball players in recent memories. Smith has scored over 9,000 points in his career and finished his career in the NBA's top ten list of free-throw percentages and three-point percentages for a total of 5 years.
The retired NBA player has gone on to become a successful and award-winning basketball commentator and analyst, with several Emmys under his belt for his commentary on TNT's Inside the NBA. Smith was born in Queens, New York in 1965 and now has 5 children from 2 separate marriages. Smith shortly hosted a radio show/podcast called Baseline 2 Baseline where he interviewed popular NBA stars and gave behind-the-scenes explanations of NBA games.
Jim Nantz - CBS
Salary: $5 million per year
American play-by-play broadcaster Jim Nantz is known for his wacky calls and his signature "Hello, friends!" opening line in broadcasts. The 60-year-old sportscaster from North Carolina has been commentating on games since the early '80s. His first big break happened when he joined CBS Sports in 1985 as a studio host for their college football and basketball games. Nantz slowly moved up from there and began covering NFL from 1998 onwards.
The sportscaster has appeared in episodes of The Price is Right and has contributed his voice to the commentary in the long-running Madden NFL video-game series. He had also appeared in a Papa John's Pizza ad with Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Nantz's career has been filled with various honors and awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality in 2008 and 2009. He was also awarded the NSSA's National Sportscaster of the Year five times between 1998 and 2009.
Jim Rosenthal - MUTV
Salary: $1 million per year
Jim Rosenthal is one of the most popular presenters of television sport in Britain. The British sportscaster from Oxford, England, has been covering various sports from football to boxing and even rugby. His long career as presenter and commentator started in 1972 almost 50 years ago and still continues strong. The successful commentator has been named Presenter of the Year twice by Royal Television Society for his many popular coverings of multiple FIFA World Cups, Rugby World Cups, Olympic Games, and many Formula Won races.
Rosenthal also tried his hand in small acting roles on television, pretty much playing himself as reporter and commentator in Friday Night Dinner, Genie in the House and Footballers' Wives. He is also a contributor to the Willow Foundation which helps people with serious illnesses have special days of happiness. Jim’s son, Tom Rosenthal is a successful comedian and actor.