Gary Lineker's bank balance is set for another significant boost this summer after the former Match of the Day presenter secured a lucrative agreement with Netflix for the World Cup. The ex-England forward has transported his enormously successful podcast, The Rest is Football, across the Atlantic for the tournament, with initial episodes already available on the streaming platform to over 325 million paying subscribers globally.
Lineker, 65, will discuss the action with pundit colleagues Alan Shearer and Micah Richards throughout a 40-episode run from a luxurious New York City flat. Netflix has pledged viewers a daily fix of banter, analysis, and hot takes. Special guests, including Frank Lampard, Patrick Vieira, and Harry Maguire, are also expected to feature regularly, with programmes broadcasting at 6am each morning in the UK.
The project is anticipated to generate a considerable financial return for Lineker and his co-presenters. Netflix is believed to have paid an eye-watering £14 million fee for the rights to broadcast the podcast. These substantial earnings will contribute another sizeable sum to Lineker's wealth, though the Leicester-born personality has never been strapped for cash, having accumulated millions through football, broadcasting, and numerous high-profile commercial deals.
Lineker spent 25 years presenting Match of the Day and was consistently the BBC's top-earning presenter, taking home more than £1.35 million annually before departing the broadcaster in May. His net worth is now widely believed to stand at around £30 million. That sum has been significantly enhanced in recent years by the explosive expansion of Goalhanger, the media production firm he co-founded with Tony Pastor and Jack Davenport in 2018. According to the Sunday Times, Goalhanger is the fastest-growing company in Britain, with turnover rocketing at an average yearly rate of 321% over the past three years.
Much of that expansion has been fuelled by the triumph of the company's podcasts, including the enormously popular The Rest is... series. These include The Rest is History, hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland; The Rest is Entertainment, hosted by Richard Osman and Marina Hyde; The Rest is Politics, hosted by Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart; and The Rest is Football. The firm employs just 80 staff but generated £37.9 million in revenue last year and exceeded 250,000 paid subscribers for the first time in January. According to Companies House, Lineker retains a stake of at least 25% in the enterprise, helping to boost his net worth even further.
