Salary: $250,000 per year
Dick Stockton is a true veteran of the NFL. As TV and radio sportscaster for the last 5 decades, he has seen his fair share of ups and downs throughout his career. Though mostly known for his broadcasting and analyzing, Dick Stockton is also a keynote speaker. He is considered a masterful storyteller and is often invited to speak on various topics. The popular sportscaster worked with almost all major sports networks, from CBS Sports, Turner Sports, NBC Sports, and as the NFL play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports.
Stockton has covered a variety of important events and sports, from the Olympics and the World Figure Skating Championship. He received the Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award from the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001. The successful veteran announcer was married to fellow sportscaster and first female NFL analyst on TV, Lesley Visser. The couple was married from 1983 to 2010. Stockton has since remarried and is currently married to Jamie Drinkwater. The couple supports various charities, including the Empty Bowls Project for Alexandria Central School in Alexandria Bay, N.Y. which helps make sure that youth are provided with education and food.
Bill Macatee - CBS Sports
Salary: $3.5 million per year
Bill Macatee isn't your average sports broadcaster, the talented announcer began working for network television in his mid-twenties and continues his work today. The CBS Sports and Tennis Channel sportscaster was born in Rome, New York and from there moved to El Paso, Texas.
He began his broadcasting career with NBC as the youngest sportscaster in the industry. Since then, Macatee did NFL play-by-play commentary for CBS; he also called various basketball games and championship tournaments. His play-by-play work extends to figure skating, skiing, track-and-field, gymnastics, boxing, and even sumo wrestling. Last year Macatee received the Lifetime Achievement Award when he was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame.
Charles Barkley - Turner Sports
Salary: $1.5 million per year
From a professional award-winning basketball player to a highly acclaimed NBA analyst, Charles Barkley's career is a series of amazing accomplishments and a true testament to his work ethic both inside the court and outside. Initially, a relatively small kid, at just 5 ft 10 in. and 220 pounds, the high school junior from Alabama failed to impress anyone. But eventually, Barkley enjoyed a huge growth spurt and got the chance to improve his abilities. Later he was discovered by Sonny Smith, who quickly saw his potential and drafted Barkley due to his impressive physical size and highly trained skills.
Barkley went on to become a highly successful NBA player and was ranked #11 in the best all-around player score (PER) in the NBA. Once the NBA superstar retired in 2,000 as the fourth player in history to achieve 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists, he went on to become a highly decorated NBA analyst with three Sports Emmy Awards. He was also written several books and almost ran for Governor of Alabama in 2014 before changing his mind.
Tom Hammond - NBC
Salary: $2.9 million per year
You may not recognize Tom Hammond unless you enjoy watching horse racing, track, and field or speed skating on NBC Sports. Hammond was born in 1944 in Lexington Kentucky and earned his B.S. in animal science in 1967. He served as play-by-play announcer for a variety of sports networks before being hired by NBC in 1984 to co-host the inaugural Breeder's Cup with fellow announcer, Dick Enberg. Apparently, the executives were so pleased with Hammond's performance that he ended up getting a long-term contract that resulted in over 30 years of work with the network.
Hammond and his wife have three children, with one of them following his legacy and becoming a play-by-play radio commentator on the AFL on NBC. Hammond's career is full of awards and honors, from 2 Eclipse Award (the highest honor for horse racing broadcasting), to 4 different Emmy Awards. He was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame in the University of Ken
Tom Heinsohn - CBS
Salary: $500,000 per year
From player to coach to the broadcaster. The NBA's Tom Heinsohn was an aggressive player with excellent accuracy and movement. The NBA Rookie of 1957 helped the Celtics dominate with a total of 8 NBA titles in his almost decade of time with the team. Heinsohn is also a 6 time NBA all-star and was awarded the title of NBA Coach of the Year in 1973. His legendary performance made him one of the most beloved Celtics player of all time, both as a player and as a coach.
As a new NBA player, Heinsohn had an average of 16.2 points per game and retired with an even better 18.6 PPG. At the height of his career, he averaged 21.3 points per game for 3 consecutive seasons. After retiring, Heinsohn's career as a coach began to pick up after about 2 years as the Celtics' coach. As a broadcaster, the former player and coach is known to be very critical of referees and is accused of being biased towards the Celtics. What's unique about Heinsohn is that he is revered by many generations of Celtics fans. Imagine growing up with Heinsohn as your favorite player, only to have your son cheer him as the team's' coach, then to have your grandson love him as a broadcaster. Truly amazing.