Daily Dirt: Tom Brady makes more than the president, but he’s probably had a better year, too

Daily Dirt for Friday, July 14, 2023

Jim Rome is entertaining, but $30 million worth of entertaining?. Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 665 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Who says sports doesn’t pay? Or rather, pay off?

Check out the salaries of the top five network sports personalities, and compare them to the top five network news figures. Then compare either or both of those to the salaries of the U.S. president and those who serve under him.

Sports TV/Radio personalities/analysts

• 1. Tom Brady: He will be making $37.5 million a year over the next 10 NFL football seasons. He’ll be providing analysis for Fox.
• 2. Jim Rome: He is employed by CBS Sports, where he has a national radio show and simulcast. His salary? A cool $30 million per year.
• 3-tie. Tony Romo: He signed his current deal ($180 million over 10 years) with CBS in 2020. That’s $18 million per season.
• 3-tie. Troy Aikman: He has been paired with Joe Buck in the booth for years as the top broadcast team for NFL games. The two initially were behind the mic at Fox and currently anchor ESPN’s top NFL game. Aikman’s $18 million deal is identical to Romo’s.
• 5. Michael Strahan: He is currently employed by CBS Sports, where he has a national radio show and simulcast. His checks total $17 million per year.

Network news anchors/personalities

• 1. Sean Hannity, Fox: $40 million
• 2. Diane Sawyer, ABC: $22 million.
• 3. Robin Roberts, ABC: $18 million.
• 4. George Stephanopoulos, ABC: $15 million.
• 5. Anderson Cooper, CNN: $12 million.

President/key governmental positions

• 1. President Joe Biden: $400,000. (Former presidents earn $207,800)
• 2. Acting senior advisor to the president Francis Collins: $300,000
• 3. Vice President Kamala Harris: $235,100.
• 4. Chief Justice of the United States: John Roberts, $280,500
• 5. Speaker of the House of Representatives: Kevin McCarthy, $193,400

2. Fun fact: The most isolated spot in the continental United States is Glasgow, Mont. The Washington Post once discovered that a whopping 98 percent of Americans in the contiguous U.S. live within an hour of some kind of urban center (that is, a metropolitan area with at least 75,000 people). Glasgow, in the northeast corner of Montana, is an estimated 4.5 hours from the nearest urban center, making it the most isolated town (with a population of 1,000 or more) in the lower 48 states.

3. In case you might be wondering, on this date in 1963, if you stopped in at your favorite McDonald’s here’s what you would pay:

• Hamburger: 15 cents.
• Fries: 10 cents.
• Coke: 10 cents
• Shake: 20 cents.

Let’s skip to 1973:

• Big Mac: 65 cents
• Hamburger: 28 cents.
• Fries: 26 cents.
• Coke: 15 cents
• Shake: 35 cents.

And now we move to 1983:

• Big Mac: $1.69
• Hamburger: 50 cents.
• Fries: 48 cents.
• Coke: 30 cents
• Shake: 75 cents.

… And today:

• Big Mac: $3.99.
• Hamburger: $2.49. 
• Fries:  $1.39
• Coke:  $1.00
• Shake:  $2.19

When McDonald’s was about to introcue what eventually became the Big Mac, the other top name choices for the eventual iconic sandwich were the Aristocrat and Blue Ribbon Burger.

Steve Thought O’ The Day: 
Whatever the McDonald’s sandwich is, I prefer it plain. Meat and bun, bay-bee. It’s all you need.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Ever wonder how many 15-cent hamburgers Steve bought in the day?