Becoming a Television Sports Commentator

Growing up I always dreamt of playing in the major sports whether it would be a star wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders or a point guard with the New York Knicks. As I got older and by the time I went to college, I realized that these visions weren’t going to materialize. But I still wanted to be involved with sports somehow and then came my new dream of becoming a television sports commentator.

Actually it really is not that bad. Sports commentators on the major networks can make annual salaries that go over a $1M. A lot of people that played sport in high school or college are not able to make it to the pros and even if they did, they might get cut at any given time. The likes of Tom Brady and Kobe Bryant who were able to start their career in one franchise and be able to finish it in the same organization after winning multiple championships are few and far between.

So what does it take to become a television sports commentator? By a television sports commentator, I include color commentators, play-by-play commentators and the ones who appear on talk shows of major networks such as Skip Bayless and Michael Wilbon even though they have never suited up in a uniform or taken the field at the pro or college level.

The route that most of the big names that you hear about take is to get started in a smaller market. This has held true since the days of Ronald Reagan who also got his start after graduation in 1932 broadcasting home football games for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Nowadays, an internship or two or three is an absolute must with most interns doing things like fetching coffee and editing highlights to get that valuable experience on their resume. This is what it takes to get better jobs in this industry, though. Quite frankly, there is a lot of competition at the entry-level and the starting salaries are not good at an average of $15,000 annually.

In terms of education, a bachelor’s degree should be good enough. However, successful sportscasters have had varied backgrounds. As mentioned earlier, expect to make figures a year if you get to the top. This does not have to be your only income as a lot of sportscasters make more money in endorsement deals if they are very popular.

Take Dick Vitale who was a head basketball coach at the University of Detroit and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons after a short stint as a school teacher in New Jersey who actually has a schedule of almost 30 speaking engagements through the Washington Speakers Bureau and each of these engagements give him $45,000. Endorsement deals also make him money with his appearances in Pontiac car advertisements. He has also made cameo appearances in the movies and is a regular on TV.

Probably the biggest star in this industry is John Madden who is a Super Bowl-winning coach in the NFL with increased popularity during his years as a color commentator on game casts. When FOX outbid CBS for the rights to air NFC contests in 1993, Madden got $30 million over four years and became the highest-paid sports commentator in history. Forbes.com reported that his annual income was about $17 million in 2004.

Madden’s name is also used in the series of football video games called Madden NFL which sells millions of copies annually. Madden NFL can be played on and Xbox 360, PlayStation2 and GameCube, and can be purchased in stores for 50 bucks. Video-game maker Electronic Arts (EA) pays John Madden just about $10 million annually.