Chris Russo used to mostly only be known among New Yorkers thanks to his legendary run as the co-host of “Mike and the Mad Dog” with Mike Francesa on WFAN from 1989-2008. But more recently, Russo’s profile has grown thanks to regular appearances on ESPN’s “First Take” as a broadcasting counterpart to Stephen A. Smith. And Russo is being paid quite handsomely for those appearances.
Russo, who also has a channel on SiriusXM named after him, conducted an interview with Howard Stern recently. During the interview, Russo revealed that he makes $10,000 per appearance on “First Take.”
Chris "Mad Dog" Russo tells Howard Stern he's being paid $10,000 for each "First Take" appearance and he has a contract to do the show for 40 weeks.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) June 22, 2022
Russo appears on the show weekly on Wednesdays.
The “First Take” appearances are only part of Russo’s job duties. He also hosts “Mad Dog Unleashed” on SiriusXM and “High Heat” on MLB Network.
That’s not bad money to appear on weekly debates with Smith. It’s even better money to mispronounce names regularly.
