Gary Lineker's net worth explored amid his BBC exit after nearly 26 years

Retired English footballer and sports broadcaster, Gary Lineker, has an estimated net worth of $30 million as per Hello! Magazine, making him the highest-paid on-air star at the BBC.

Lineker is stepping down from hosting Match of the Day, 26 years after fronting the BBC's flagship football show. His last show will be broadcast this weekend, without a payoff, days after he apologised for his controversial online material.

Gary Lineker, who was scheduled to reportedly present the 2026 World Cup or next season's FA Cup, will not do so after "bowing out by mutual agreement" with the broadcaster. His final Match of the Day show is scheduled to be broadcast on May 25.

Tim Davie noted that he had been facing calls all week to fire Lineker. When asked about the incident while giving a speech in Salford, Davie said,

"The BBC's reputation is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us. I think we absolutely need people to be exemplars of the BBC's values and follow our social media policy. Simple as that."

More about Gary Lineker's personal life and BBC tenure

Gary Lineker has amassed a net worth of $30 million while serving as the Match of the Day show host at the BBC for around 26 years. As per BBC's 2023/2024 accounts, Lineker was paid between £1.3 and £1.35 million.

Gary Lineker owns a podcast production company, Goalhanger, which is valued at £1.9 million, with reported cash reserves of around £2.7 million as of May 2024.

Lineker had joined the BBC after retiring from professional football. Earlier, Lineker appeared as a team captain on the sports game show, They Think It's All Over, from 1995 to 2003, and presented Grandstand in the London Studio.

In 1999, Gary replaced Lynam as the BBC's anchorman for football coverage and also took over Match of the Day. After Steve Rider exited from the BBC in 2005, Lineker, who's known to be a recreational golfer, became the new presenter of the BBC's golf coverage.

Lineker has also worked as an anchor for the English language football coverage for Al Jazeera Sport. He was also the lead presenter of the BBC's coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

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Apart from his media and professional football career, Gary also has a long-standing collaboration with Walkers Crisps. In 2020, Lineker signed a £1.2 million deal with the brand in their attempt to focus on community sport and sustainability initiatives.

A source told the Sun that it was Gary who offered to step down at the end of the season since he did not want the BBC to be dragged into "further controversy."

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