Columnist salaries

I've often heard that sports columnists are among the most well-paid newspaper staffers.

So how much does a, say, Jay Mariotti or Bill Plaschke or Whitlock pull in? What about smaller-paper columnists? Is that still the case for the guys competing in the 40,000-100,000 APSE category? Is the guy in Eugene, Ore., or Gainesville, Fla., pulling in decent coin?

I've always wondered.

 

I'd say the over/under for a college town columnist (like the two mentioned) would be $55-$60K.

 

Whatever George Schroeder is getting in Eugene, it's not enough. Whatever Pat Dooley is getting in Gainesville, he's overpaid.

 

I've been told several times that Albom is pulling seven figures from the Freep. I've also been told several times that there is no way in hell that's true.

 

Those were just college towns I pulled out of my ass. Pick a city, any city - Syracuse, Bloomington, Ann Arbor, Lexington, Tucson, Austin, Raleigh, etc., etc.

 

Depends on the chain. Depends, too, on whether they're really a columnist, or a reporter who happens to get a mugshot once a week for a "column" on their beat.

 

a lead columnists at a major daily is making more than $100,000, to be certain

I cant' believe Albom gets seven figures. I'm sure he makes that with all his sources, but not from the paper alone.

 

I've read that LeBatard makes around $400K from Miami. Part of his deal is that he can freelance at will for ESPN. That was actually a few years back when the Sun-Sentinel was trying to hire him away, so it could be higher or lower now...

 

There is no way in bloody hell that the Freep has enough money to give Albom a million every year. 500K? That I will believe. 750K? Maybe. But $1 million? Just for his newspaper work? No. Way.

 

I guess my question would be, Who do we think is the highest-paid newspaper (not magazine or website) columnist?

My money would be on Albom or Lupica.

 

Dooley ain't that bad. Some of his stuff is really good. Tends to go long, but he's writing to a very specific audience. Plus, while he's a columnist, he also does other stuff. He broke the Spurrier leaving story and is well connected in Gainesville. You can't beat that. Can he be a homer at times, sure, but most college-town columnists can be accused of that, I'm sure.

 

Because of his books, and resulting crossover appeal, I'd have to say Albom. Probably around $600K, plus perks.

Not a bad gig.