Gary Lineker’s huge Netflix salary for World Cup as net worth soars | Football | Sport
Gary Lineker’s bank balance is set for another healthy boost this summer after the former Match of the Day host struck a “lucrative” deal with Netflix for the World Cup. The ex-England striker has taken his hugely popular The Rest is Football podcast across the Atlantic for the tournament, with the first episodes already available on the streaming giant’s platform to more than 325 million paid subscribers worldwide.
Lineker, 65, will chew the fat with pundit pals Alan Shearer and Micah Richards across a 40-episode stint from a plush New York City apartment, with Netflix promising viewers a “daily fix of banter, analysis and hot takes”. Special guests, including Frank Lampard, Patrick Vieira and Harry Maguire, are also set to make regular appearances, with shows airing at 6am each morning in the UK.
The venture is expected to deliver a substantial windfall for Lineker and his co-hosts, with Netflix understood to have forked out an eye-watering £14 million sum for the rights to stream the podcast. The hefty payday will add another healthy chunk to Lineker’s fortune – although the Leicester-born star has never been short of a few quid, having amassed millions through football, broadcasting and a string of high-profile commercial partnerships.
Lineker spent 25 years fronting Match of the Day and was regularly the BBC’s highest-paid presenter, earning more than £1.35 million a year before leaving the corporation in May. His net worth is now widely estimated to be in the region of £30 million.
That figure has been boosted in recent years by the rapid growth of Goalhanger, the media production company he co-founded with Tony Pastor and Jack Davenport in 2018. According to the Sunday Times, Goalhanger is the fastest-growing business in Britain, with sales soaring at an average annual rate of 321% over the past three years.
Much of that growth has been driven by the success of the company’s podcasts, including the hugely popular The Rest is… series. These include The Rest is History, hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland, The Rest is Entertainment, hosted by Richard Osman and Marina Hyde, The Rest is Politics, hosted by Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart, and The Rest is Football.
The company employs just 80 people but made £37.9 million in revenue last year and surpassed 250,000 paid subscribers for the first time in January. According to Companies House, Lineker maintains a stake of at least 25% in the business, helping to boost his net worth even further.
