Eleanor Oldroyd – BBC
Salary: $200,000 per year
BBC Radio Back in the mid-’80s, Eleanor Oldroyd began her career as journalist and broadcaster in local radio by covering cricket, paving the way for female sportscasters at a time when there were virtually no women in that field. She has been working for BBC Radio since 1986. Despite claiming to not be a very sporty person, she says that she fell in love with cricket and would watch it often with her dad.
Oldroyd is a very big activist for women’s equality in sports and is proud of being one of the first female sports broadcasters. In a recent interview with “The Set Pieces”, she claims to feel very lucky to be in her position and to live at a time when women are much more accepted and taken seriously in sports. She is also the author of the book “Composers of Barnes – The Flow of Inspiration” which is a biographical profile of eight of the leading composers from Barnes.
Peter Gammons - ESPN
Salary: $250,000 per year
Peter Gammons is one of the world's leading veterans in baseball writing, with almost 50 years of experience writing for The Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN and THe Athletic. The 74-year-old sportswriter received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing in 2004 and was also voted as National Sportswriter of the Year 3 times in the past few years.
Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, the city is proud of his work in sports and has proclaimed January 9, 2009 "Peter Gammons day" by the president of the Boston City Council. Gammons is also an avid fan of rock and blues and has released several albums whose proceeds went to charity. Gammons worked for ESPN from 1989 but ultimately quit the network 20 years later in order to free up his extremely demanding schedule to pursue other lifelong challenges. He currently works for the MLB Network as a TV analyst.
Howie Long - Fox
Salary: $16 million per year
Retired professional NFL player, actor and sportscaster Howie Long spent his entire 13-season career with the Los Angeles Raiders. The almost 60-year-old former defense footballer was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. After retiring from the NFL in 1993, Long took his bulky build and formidable personality and pursued a career in acting with a focus mainly towards action films. The actor played a few roles in films such as Broken Arrow with John Travolta and 3000 Miles to Graceland with Kurt Russel and Kevin Costner.
The actor even got his own lead role in the 1998 action thriller Firestorm. Long has also appeared in various TV shows and commercials for many companies from Coca-Cola to Hanes and even Chevrolet. He also wrote a book called "Football For Dummies" that was mostly aimed at fans of football who wanted a better understanding of the game. Long is currently a studio analyst for Fox Sports' NFL coverage.
Mike Francesa - Mike’s On: Francesa on the FAN
Salary: $3 million per year
Popular talk show radio host Mike Francesa is the host of Mike and the Mad Dog radio show, one of the most famous and successful radio shows in America. Prior to starting his solo career, Mike was a sportscaster for CBS Sports and WFAN, covering various events, mostly related to the NFL. Francisca also hosts the weekly "The NFL Now" radio show and the night-time "Sportstime" on CBS Radio Network.
The acclaimed radio host stated in 2016 that he plans to retire once his contract with WFAN expired, and signed off for the last time in December 2017 by thanking fans of the show. Just a few months after retiring, Francesa launched a mobile app called "Mike's On" with a subscription-based payment model, which streams his show and archived interviews. The app's $8.99 monthly cost was widely criticized by various news outlets, with headlines such as "Buyer, beware! Mike Francesa's pricey new app just another way for the Sports Pope to con the masses", you can safely say that the move was not too well received.
Billy Ray Brown - CBS
Salary: $2 million per year
Old-school Golfing legend Billy Ray Brown is a true veteran of the sport and played from 1987 until the late '90s. Brown is also a true Texan. He was born in Houston in 1963 and has had many accomplishments during his golf career including 3 PGA Tour victories.
Brown had to cut his golfing career short due to wrist injuries. After his retirement from competitive golf in 1999, he went on to report for ABC sports for 8 years before joining The Golf Channel. If you're an avid sports card collector, you can purchase a Billy Ray Brown trading card on Amazon for just around $3!