Former Match of the Day star Des Lynam has questioned why Gary Linker receives such a huge salary for his time on Match of the Day as well as his career success
When Match of the Day legend Des Lynam left the BBC in 1999 after signing a deal with ITV, he reportedly more than doubled his salary from £500,000 to £1million.
Des, who was paid £2,000 per year – equal to about £33,000 today – when he started as a sports commentator with BBC radio in 1969, concedes that Gary is a “first-class” pundit. Gary, 63, who was with Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Barcelona, and won 80 England caps in his playing career, is now the BBC’s top earner, ahead of Radio 2 breakfast host Zoe Ball, who is on £950,000.
He worked in insurance before beginning his broadcasting career in 1968, as a freelancer with BBC Radio Brighton. Des moved to television in 1977 and started presenting on Grandstand in 1979 and Match Of The Day in 1988. He also commentated on Wimbledon and boxing. And he says one of the highlights of his career was covering the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire, where Muhammad Ali took the heavyweight crown from George Foreman.
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