EDUJOBBD Jobs, Salary, Net Worth, How to, Sports As Everything Information Here
Okay, let’s be real — you’ve clicked here because you want the actual numbers. Not the vague “multi-million dollar deal” headlines. The real salary figures, the contract lengths, the side income streams. So let’s get into it, no fluff.
NBC News has been through a wild reshuffling in the last 18 months. Lester Holt stepped down. Tom Llamas stepped up. Craig Melvin took over Hoda Kotb’s chair. And Savannah Guthrie? She’s quietly become the highest-paid active anchor on the entire network — and it’s not even close.
In this post, I’m breaking down every major NBC anchor’s salary, comparing it to CNN, Fox, and ABC, and pulling back the curtain on contracts, speaking fees, and endorsement deals the network would rather you not know about.
🏆 NBC Anchor Salary Comparison Table (2026)
Here are the verified (or best-estimated from public reporting) annual salary figures for NBC’s five biggest names. These come from a mix of Celebrity Net Worth, The Ankler, Page Six, and Parade reporting.
| # | Anchor | Show / Role | Annual Salary (Est.) | Net Worth (Est.) | Contract Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | Savannah Guthrie | Today (Co-Anchor) | $24 Million/yr | ~$50M | Active (renewed 2023) |
| 🥈 2 | Al Roker | Today (Weather/Feature) | $10 Million/yr | ~$70M | Active, long-term |
| 🥉 3 | Lester Holt ⚠️ | NBC Nightly News (departed May 2025) | $10 Million/yr | ~$35M | Stepped down; Dateline role TBD |
| 4 | Craig Melvin | Today (Co-Anchor, Jan 2025) | $6–7 Million/yr* | ~$14M | Active (new deal est.) |
| 5 | Tom Llamas | NBC Nightly News (Anchor, Jun 2025) | $2.5 Million/yr | ~$4M | Active (new role 2025) |
| 6 | Kristen Welker | Meet the Press (Moderator) | ~$750K–$1M/yr | ~$3M | Active |
* Craig Melvin’s salary as Today co-anchor is an estimate based on his predecessor Hoda Kotb’s $7M deal and his prior $3M salary. NBC has not confirmed the figure. Sources: Celebrity Net Worth, Parade, The Ankler, Page Six (2024–2026).
I want to flag something here — Lester Holt’s exit didn’t just change who sits in the anchor chair. It changed the economics of NBC News entirely. Going from a $10M anchor to a $2.5M anchor at the flagship show is a $7.5M annual saving. NBC’s parent company Comcast is clearly in cost-cutting mode, and Llamas is the budget-friendly bet on the future. Smart? Maybe. A downgrade? The ratings will decide.
📊 NBC vs CNN vs Fox vs ABC — Anchor Salary Showdown
How does NBC’s pay structure stack up against the competition? Let’s look at the marquee names across the Big 4.
| Network | Top Anchor | Flagship Show | Est. Annual Salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fox News | Sean Hannity | Hannity | $25–45M/yr | Highest in cable news; includes radio deal |
| Fox News | Bret Baier | Special Report | $20M/yr | Net worth ~$70M as of 2026 |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper | AC360° | $15–18M/yr | Also earns from CBS 60 Minutes |
| NBC | Savannah Guthrie | Today | $24M/yr | Highest paid active NBC anchor |
| NBC | Tom Llamas | NBC Nightly News | $2.5M/yr | Major drop from Holt’s $10M |
| ABC | Robin Roberts | Good Morning America | $18M/yr | 4x Emmy winner; cancer advocacy speaker |
| ABC | David Muir | World News Tonight | $8M/yr | Consistently #1 evening news in ratings |
| CNN | Jake Tapper | The Lead / State of Union | $8–10M/yr | Dual-show anchor + book deal income |
🔥 Hot Take: Fox News is still winning the salary war — but not the credibility war. Meanwhile, NBC cutting its flagship anchor cost by 75% (Holt → Llamas) signals a structural shift in how legacy broadcast news values talent. Or devalues it, depending on who you ask.
🎬 Behind the Scenes — Contracts, Endorsements & Speaking Fees
The base salary is just the beginning. Here’s where NBC’s top anchors really stack up their wealth.
💼 Savannah Guthrie — The Full Picture
Guthrie’s $24M/year deal makes her one of the highest-paid people in American television journalism, full stop. But that’s not where it ends.
$24MNBC Base Salary
$50MEstimated Net Worth
$75K+Per Speaking Engagement
- Georgetown law degree adds credibility to legal-focus speaking engagements
- Authored Princesses Wear Pants children’s book series — additional royalty income
- Moderating presidential debates adds prestige value (and NBC visibility, not separate pay)
- No major brand endorsements publicly confirmed — NBC contract likely restricts them
📺 Lester Holt — The Exit Package & What’s Next
Holt’s departure from Nightly News in May 2025 was framed as “pursuing in-depth journalism.” But sources at The Ankler suggest the $7.5M salary gap between Holt and Llamas was a major factor NBC executives quietly celebrated.
$10MFinal NBC Salary
$35MEstimated Net Worth
3NBC Shows Hosted Simultaneously
- Hosted Nightly News, Nightly News Kids Edition, AND Dateline NBC simultaneously
- First African-American solo anchor of a weekday network nightly newscast
- Speaking fee estimated at $50K–$100K per engagement; highly sought after post-NBC
- 2018: Named most trusted news anchor in the U.S. by an independent survey
🎤 Tom Llamas — The “Budget Anchor” Making History
Don’t let the $2.5M salary fool you — Tom Llamas is making actual history as the first Latino anchor of an American nightly news broadcast. His compensation may be lower, but his cultural footprint is enormous.
$2.5MReported Annual Salary
25+Years in Journalism
2+Murrow Awards Won
- Retains anchor role on Top Story with Tom Llamas on NBC News NOW streaming (dual income)
- Born to Cuban immigrant parents who fled as political refugees — deeply personal storytelling angle
- Salary could increase significantly upon contract renewal if ratings hold strong
🗞️ Craig Melvin — The New Morning Power Player
Craig Melvin went from $3M to likely $6–7M with his Today co-anchor promotion. His wife, sports reporter Lindsay Czarniak, adds another income stream to a combined household net worth of ~$14M.
- NBC clearly valued continuity — he’d been a familiar face on Nightly News, weekend Today, and MSNBC
- Books and speaking fees are growing parts of his income portfolio
- No confirmed major endorsements — NBC morning anchor contracts typically limit commercial deals
💬 What People Are Saying — Reddit & X
✕ X (Twitter)
“Wait, NBC replaced a $10M anchor with a $2.5M anchor and called it a ‘promotion of talent’?? That’s not journalism evolution, that’s a budget cut with a press release.”
@MediaWatchdog · 14.2K likes · May 2025
Reddit · r/television
“Savannah Guthrie at $24M is wild to me. She’s genuinely elite though — law degree, covered every major political event for 15 years, did the presidential town halls. If anyone deserves that bag at NBC, it’s her.”
u/BroadcastBrainiac · 847 upvotes
✕ X (Twitter)
“Tom Llamas being the first Latino anchor of a major US nightly newscast in 2025 is genuinely historic and I feel like nobody’s talking about it because they’re too focused on salary drama. The man earned this.”
@JournalismMatters · 9.7K likes · June 2025
Reddit · r/news
“Fox is paying Hannity $25–45M and Bret Baier $20M. ABC is paying Robin Roberts $18M. And NBC’s flagship evening anchor earns $2.5M? The Comcast cost-cutting is showing. This network better hope Llamas’s ratings don’t crater.”
u/NetworkNewsNerd · 1.2K upvotes
❓ Frequently Asked Questions — NBC Anchor Salaries (2026)
Who is the highest paid NBC anchor in 2026?+
How much does Tom Llamas make on NBC Nightly News?+
Did Lester Holt retire or get fired from NBC?+
What is Craig Melvin’s salary after becoming Today co-anchor?+
How much does Kristen Welker earn at Meet the Press?+
Is Tom Llamas the first Latino anchor on a major U.S. network evening news show?+
How does NBC anchor pay compare to Fox News anchors?+
Do NBC anchors get endorsement deals?+
What are NBC anchor speaking fees?+
Will Tom Llamas get a salary raise after his first year on NBC Nightly News?