The Salary for Football Commentators

by Nancy Hart

Announcers help guide the viewing or listening experience of fans following football games by providing crucial details of the action as well as deeper insight into the teams and players. Depending on the medium -- TV or radio -- announcers will use different techniques to describe the action. TV broadcasts require less description of the action because the pictures tell much of the story. On radio, the listener is completely dependent on the commentator. Announcers make a range of salaries depending on experience and the level of competition they are broadcasting.

National Football League

The NFL is the highest level in the sport, and its announcers are paid accordingly. The top announcers make more than $1 million a season. Industry averages are not published by sport or league, but major TV broadcast networks pay the top salaries and often hire former star players to their broadcast teams. Former players such as Cris Collinsworth and Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman make more than $1 million. Iconic announcers Al Michaels and Joe Buck made $5 million, according to a USA Today report in 2012.

Top Colleges

Major TV networks such as ABC, CBS and ESPN also pay large sums -- figures reaching into the billions -- for the broadcast rights to college football games. These networks pay their top commentators high salaries to broadcast the games for their TV and radio affiliates. Some star commentators work NFL and college games as well as other sports, and they make more than $1 million a year. For college teams, radio outlets in the region pay their sportscasters closer to the median annual wage of all radio and TV announcers, which was $26,850 in May 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The actual salary would depend on the size of the market in which the commentator works. An announcer in the New York City area would make much more than someone broadcasting in Des Moines, Iowa, for example.

Lower Division Colleges

College football programs in lower divisions, such as the Football Championship Subdivision or Division III, also are featured on radio and TV broadcasts. Regional radio and cable TV stations often hire their own announcers for the local college football teams' games. These announcers earn a range of salaries depending on whether they are freelancers for just the season or full-time employees at the stations, such as sports directors, who also take on broadcasting roles. The salaries will depend on the size of budgets of the regional broadcasting company or the school. The salary range for sports announcers from $19,933 to $101,367 as of October 2011, according to

High School

High school football broadcasts generally are found on the radio, if at all. How much a commentator will earn for announcing a game depends on a variety of factors. Some stations have employees who hold other roles and are used to call the games during the high school football season. Other stations might pay a commentator by the game to make the broadcast over its airwaves. Any salaried commentators calling high school games could expect to earn in the lower end of the range for sports announcers, making about $20,000 or more, depending on the size of the market.

About the Author


Photo Credits

  • Joey Foley/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Suggest an Article Correction