Jim Nantz will not be leaving CBS, but it was not exactly “Tony Romo money” that convinced the longtime play-by-play announcer to remain with the network.
Nantz has agreed to a multi-year deal to remain with CBS, John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reported on Thursday. The terms of the contract have not been disclosed, but negotiations were never enough of an issue that Nantz actually considered leaving. So how much did it cost to keep him around?
According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, CBS went at least as high as $10.5 million per year when negotiating with Nantz. It’s unclear if the two sides settled on a number that was north of that, but it seems likely that Nantz will earn at least that much.
A salary in the $10 million range would make sense for Nantz, as that is roughly what Joe Buck makes from FOX and Mike Tirico gets gets from NBC. Nantz was undoubtedly looking to be paid as much or more than those two, and deservedly so.
There was a report last year that Nantz was seeking a salary similar to his NFL partner Tony Romo’s, but that was never going to happen. Romo reportedly earns $18 million per year. Top play-by-play announcers — even ones who call top NFL games, the Masters and the NCAA Tournament — simply don’t make as much as top analysts.
We know at least one network would have loved to poach Nantz away from CBS, but ultimately it sounds like he never gave any real thought to leaving.
