Jim Nantz, the face of CBS sports broadcasting, is looking to get paid this year with a contract that rivals some of the biggest money makers in the business.
According to a report from the New York Post, Nantz reportedly makes somewhere around $6.5 million per year but he wants to see that number doubled or even tripled to the point of his NFL partner, Tony Romo, who makes more than $17 million annually.
Looking across the networks, Joe Buck and Mike Tirico are both in the $10 million range for Fox and NBC. No wonder Nantz is annoyed at his contract if an inferior announcer like Tirico is paid almost $4 million more per year. Nantz calls NFL games for CBS, along with the Masters and Final Four.
Another interesting tidbit in all this, Nantz is apparently very protective of his relationship with Romo. This past weekend as Nantz was calling The Masters, CBS issued a statement which said that since producers from their NFL broadcasts would be working The Masters with Nantz, they would keep the whole top crew, including Romo, off air for continuity purposes.
Ian Eagle would most likely be the CBS heir to Nantz, but his contract is up next year and could prove to also be a challenge depending on how Nantz’s negotiations go.
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. And you can bet that if Nantz somehow increases his pay substantially, there will soon be similar stories of other announcers looking to cash in for similar big paydays.
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