MOTD Presenter Gary Lineker To Stay At BBC, Will Take 'Significant' Pay Cut

Match of the Day anchor Gary Lineker "is understood to have agreed a new deal to keep him at the BBC," according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. Lineker "will have to take a significant drop" in his current £2M ($3M)-a-year contract "due to both cost-cutting across the board and the fact that his last contract including his work on the BBC’s coverage of the London Olympic Games." Any drop in salary "will be cushioned by Lineker’s contracts with Arabic TV network Al Jazeera" -- for whom he presents the station's Champions League coverage -- and his "long-running deal with Walkers crisps." It is understood a part of the new deal "will involve him doing more Sunday Match of the Day programmes when the flagship fixtures are on that day" (DAILY MAIL, 3/27).