Gary Lineker’s £1.35m salary from the BBC is so huge that it would take twice the population of the Falkland Islands just to pay it.
The BBC license fee per year currently stands at £159 per household for colour TV, however in April 2024, this will rise to £169.50.
The population of the Falkland Islands is 3,622, according to the 2021 census.
In order to pay Linker’s hefty £1.35m salary, 7,965 households would all need to pay the updated licence fee.
Gary Lineker is the BBC's highest-paid presenter
PAThis is just over double the population of the British overseas territory.
At £1.35million-a-year, Lineker's wage makes him the highest-paid BBC talent, almost £400,000 more than Zoe Ball's £985,000 salary.
Lineker has come into hot water this year, when he was suspended by the broadcaster after comparing the current Conservative government to 1930s Germany.
That sparked a backlash yet he was able to resume his role on Match of the Day after pundits and football stars lent their support.
His current contract is due to expire in 2025, however according to the Daily Mail, the BBC is open to talks with Lineker to renew his contract, which could see his salary increase even more.
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The BBC will increase its license fee in April
GETTYMelvyn Bragg, presenter of Radio 4's In Our Time, has hit out at Gary Lineker’s salary, which he claims is 27 times higher than his own.
The 83-year-old radio veteran highlighted the pay disparities between the two presenters, even though his own show and Linker’s Match of the Day draw similar audience figures.
“He is paid 27 times more than I am. Something like that. It would be great if he was paid what I was paid. That would be fine. Which is perfectly all right," he said in an interview with The Times.
He praised Lineker, who he called “very good” at his job, and insisted that he was not trying to “get at him”.
Instead, he said: “I just think this is an example of the way the BBC is in a fix.”
Alan Shearer and Huw Edwards made the list of highest paid presenters, taking home £449,999 and £439,999 respectively.
Stephen Nolan was next up on £404,999, with Fiona Bruce in sixth on a salary of £399,999.
Double the population of the Falkland Islands would be required to pay for Lineker's salary
Getty
Gary Lineker has been presenting Match of the Day since 1999
PAThe Prime Minister also urged the corporation not to push for a large increase in the licence fee and be “realistic about what it can expect people to pay at a time like this”.
Over a century ago, people were paying just 10 shillings (50p) which equates to £29 in today’s money. However as of April, the new fee will be nearly six times that.
Speaking to GB News, Conservative MP Lee Anderson blasted the planned license fee hike, saying that the taxpayer was being “hoodwinked”.
“People in the BBC are being paid massive salaries when people can barely afford to pay the TV licence.
“The taxpayer is being hoodwinked out of £159 to listen to people like Gary Lineker spout his nonsense.
“It’s meant to be an impartial service, anyone with an ounce of common sense will know it’s not impartial,” he said.
A BBC spokesperson said: “The government and BBC agreed a six-year licence fee settlement in January 2022, which froze the licence fee for two years with increases in line with inflation from 2024.
“As is usual practice the government sets and confirms the cost of a licence each year and this remains unconfirmed for 2024/25.
“The BBC will continue to focus on what it does best: working to deliver world-class content and providing great value for all audiences."