Gary Lineker has received more than £1 million in dividends from his podcast business, Goalhanger Podcasts, which produces The Rest Is Football, co-hosted with Alan Shearer and Micah Richards. The payout marks his first major income since leaving the BBC last year as the corporation's highest-paid presenter.
The World Cup this summer helped boost audience numbers for the series, which was streamed on Netflix as part of a reported £14 million deal. Lineker, 65, remains a shareholder in Goalhanger, the company behind hit shows including The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Politics. Goalhanger handed its shareholders just over £5 million in dividends last year, with Lineker understood to have received more than £1 million from the payout.
Podcast empire growth
Lineker founded Goalhanger in 2019 with former ITV controller Tony Pastor and ex-BBC executive Jack Davenport. The trio originally held equal shares, although their stakes were reduced after US investment company The Chernin Group bought a minority stake earlier this year.
The Rest Is Football attracts over seven million monthly streams. Lineker's podcast empire has continued to grow since he stepped away from the BBC in May 2025 after more than two decades as the face of Match of the Day, a role he first took on in 1999.
Post-BBC earnings
In the last annual report, Lineker's BBC salary was listed at around £1.35 million, earned from his work on Match of the Day highlights and other football coverage. Now, his earnings from Goalhanger have added another substantial sum to his post-BBC income.
Goalhanger has also branched out beyond traditional podcast advertising, with live events, paid subscriptions and new shows helping to bring in more money. The business was recently named Britain's fastest-growing private company after recording sales of £37.9 million in 2025, according to the Sunday Times ranking.
