Alan Shearer's BBC salary revealed as he calls England's World Cup semi-final

Alan Shearer is earning between £390,000 and £394,999 a year from the BBC, according to the corporation’s latest mandatory pay disclosure — a reduction from his previous band of £440,000–£444,999 but still enough to make him the highest-paid football specialist on the network.

The BBC is legally required to publish the salaries of any employee earning more than £178,000 from the licence fee, and Shearer comfortably clears that threshold. His income is generated primarily through his long-running role as a studio pundit on Match of the Day, supplemented by co-commentary duties on live football broadcasts.

Shearer is on co-commentary duty for England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday, 15 July — one of the most high-profile assignments in the BBC’s football calendar.

The pay cut comes amid a broader reshaping of the BBC’s football talent roster. His former colleague Gary Lineker, who left the corporation in May, earned between £325,000 and £329,999 in his final year — a dramatic fall from the more than £1.35 million he once commanded as the network’s single highest-paid presenter. With Lineker’s departure, Shearer now sits at the top of the football pay hierarchy, alongside general broadcasting names such as Greg James and Stephen Nolan.

The annual disclosure underlines the financial scrutiny that comes with working for a publicly funded broadcaster, where top earners’ wages are a matter of public record regardless of any reduction in their pay band.