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The Highest-Paid TV Hosts of 2025: Forbes’ Top 25

Forbes estimates Tom Brady earned $37.5 million from TV work in 2025, ahead of three celebrity chefs tied at $33 million. See the full ranking and how to interpret the estimates.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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Tom Brady tops Forbes’ 2025 ranking of the highest-paid TV hosts, with an estimated $37.5 million in pretax earnings from television work. Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay and Gordon Ramsay are tied next at $33 million apiece. Forbes estimates the 25 personalities on its list earned $582 million combined.

These are Forbes estimates of television earnings—not audited salaries, take-home pay, total income or net worth. The figures are in U.S. dollars.

Forbes’ highest-paid TV hosts of 2025

The ranking below follows Forbes’ published order and displayed ranks. Forbes assigns the same rank to hosts with equal estimates; its numbering therefore skips rank 21 rather than imposing tie-breaks. All amounts are estimates of pretax earnings for TV work, in U.S. dollars.

Rank Host or television personality Estimated TV earnings
1 Tom Brady $37.5 million
2 Guy Fieri $33 million
3 Bobby Flay $33 million
4 Gordon Ramsay $33 million
5 John Oliver $30 million
6 Judy Sheindlin $30 million
7 Ryan Seacrest $29 million
8 Michael Strahan $26 million
9 Sean Hannity $25 million
10 Rachel Maddow $25 million
11 Robin Roberts $25 million
12 Savannah Guthrie $24 million
13 Kelly Ripa $22 million
14 Charles Barkley $21 million
15 Stephen A. Smith $20 million
16 Pat McAfee $20 million
17 Troy Aikman $18 million
18 Tony Romo $18 million
19 Anderson Cooper $18 million
20 Steve Harvey $17 million
20 George Stephanopoulos $17 million
22 Joe Buck $16 million
23 Jimmy Fallon $16 million
24 Jimmy Kimmel $16 million
25 Stephen Colbert $15 million

Forbes’ September 15, 2025 ranking estimates the top 25’s combined TV earnings at $582 million.

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What the earnings estimates include—and what they do not

Forbes says it developed the estimates through interviews with agents, lawyers, managers, executives and industry experts. It estimates earnings paid by media companies to talent for television work, before taxes and before representation fees. The list brings together different forms of compensation, including salaries, overall production deals and licensing arrangements.

That distinction matters for personal finances. A licensing deal may put production costs and staff expenses on the host, so the headline amount does not necessarily represent personal take-home income. The estimates also exclude other income categories, such as radio, endorsements, businesses, appearances and investments. Forbes, for example, reports Ryan Seacrest’s radio program pays him more than $10 million a year, separately from his TV earnings; that radio figure is not part of his $29 million ranking estimate.

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The estimates are not audited payroll records, and some deal terms are private. Forbes notes that Brady’s package includes company stock whose value changed after he signed. A network spokesperson also disputed Forbes’ estimate of Rachel Maddow’s salary. Treat each amount as Forbes’ estimate, not an independently verified salary or a measure of wealth.

What stands out in the 2025 list

Sports personalities make up a substantial group

Forbes counts eight sports broadcasters and studio personalities among the 25. Brady leads at $37.5 million; the list also includes Troy Aikman at $18 million and Joe Buck at $16 million. Forbes links sports talent’s earning power to media companies’ large investments in sports rights and their efforts to secure prominent on-air talent.

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Three celebrity chefs share second place

Fieri, Flay and Ramsay each have a $33 million estimate. Forbes describes their businesses as spanning multiple shows and production arrangements. As one example of contract context—not a separate 2025 earnings estimate—it reports Fieri signed a three-year, $100 million Food Network deal in late 2023. A deal’s reported total value should not be read as one year’s earnings.

Women are prominent near the top

Judy Sheindlin is estimated at $30 million. Rachel Maddow and Robin Roberts are each at $25 million, Savannah Guthrie at $24 million and Kelly Ripa at $22 million.

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Late-night hosts remain high earners amid budget pressure

Forbes estimates Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel at $16 million apiece and Stephen Colbert at $15 million. Its September 2025 article describes pressure on late-night budgets and reports CBS’s cancellation decision concerning The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at that time. Those program and contract details are dated to the article’s publication, not a statement of current status.

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Why this is not a simple salary comparison

The list covers sports, lifestyle, late-night, morning news, other news and court or reality formats. A host’s estimate may reflect multiple programs or a package combining on-air work with production or licensing responsibilities. Because deal structure and costs vary, two people with similar headline figures may not receive the same personal compensation after expenses.

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Forbes’ figures are useful as estimates of the scale of TV deals and earnings, but they cannot tell a reader what each host keeps, earns from all sources, or owns. For example, the article separates Seacrest’s radio income from his TV estimate; it also discusses other non-TV income streams for personalities such as Sean Hannity. Those separate categories should not be added to the ranking’s TV amounts.

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