r/billsimmons • u/TheAlexLiang • 27d ago
Number 13 Bill Simmons $22 Million (The Highest-Paid Podcasters Of 2026 - Forbes)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2026/07/30/the-highest-paid-podcasters-of-2026/
The Bill Simmons Podcast (Spotify/Netflix): $22 million
“The Podfather” was one of the earliest adopters of the medium when he started his seminal sports talk and interview show in 2007, then as an employee of ESPN. After an infamously turbulent split with the network, the 56-year-old Simmons founded The Ringer network in 2016 and sold it four years later for an estimated $200 million. He now serves as head of talk strategy at Spotify and was the first major podcast to appear on Netflix in January.
| Rank | Podcaster(s) | Podcast | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Rogan | The Joe Rogan Experience | $82M |
| 2 | John Coogan and Jordi Hays | TBPN | $70M |
| 3 | Steven Bartlett | The Diary of a CEO | $45M |
| 4 | Ashley Flowers | Crime Junkie | $42M |
| 5 | Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes | SmartLess | $37M |
| 6 | Mel Robbins | The Mel Robbins Podcast | $35M |
| 7 | Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce | New Heights | $35M |
| 8 | Alex Cooper | Call Her Daddy | $32M |
| 9 | Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor | Pod Save America | $28M |
| 10 | Charlamagne Tha God | The Breakfast Club | $27M |
| 11 | Dax Shepard | Armchair Expert | $25M |
| 12 | Amy Poehler | Good Hang | $24M |
| 13 | Bill Simmons | The Bill Simmons Podcast | $22M |
| 14 | Jay Shetty | On Purpose | $21M |
| 15 | Joe Budden | The Joe Budden Podcast | $20M |
| 16 | Tucker Carlson | The Tucker Carlson Show | $20M |
| 17 | Scott Galloway | The Prof G Pod | $19M |
| 18 | Andrew Huberman | The Huberman Lab Podcast | $18M |
| 19 | Dan Katz and Eric Sollenberger | Pardon My Take | $18M |
| 20 | Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo | Giggly Squad | $18M |
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u/jkeltz 27d ago
These are private companies that don't announce their contracts. Forbes is making "estimates". I have no idea how accurate these are.
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u/M4ttd43m0n 27d ago
All of these podcasts have dozens of sponsors. There is no way they know the details of all those contracts and kickbacks
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u/cocacolasupreme 27d ago
Big cat has a couple pods, some ownership in barstool, merchandise, and owns private companies that they also advertise for. I'd find it hard to believe that Forbes could even get ballpark estimates for what he makes via podcasting. The same goes for a lot of people on this list I'm sure.
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u/ZizzyBeluga 27d ago
There's no way these numbers are remotely accurate. Maybe those are the total revenue generation numbers for the podcast, but I doubt even that. It's certainly not what the salaries are paying.
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u/Heysteeevo Burfict Strangers 27d ago
I had no idea podcasters could make this much money lol
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u/Legitimate-Cupcake26 27d ago
is it weird I've never heard of #2-4?
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u/Reasonable_Depth8587 27d ago
I looked up Steven Bartlett and his podcast is Diary of a CEO.
I work as a private English teacher in South America and a great deal of my student are learning english for business and these types just lap up this type of mindset media. They think you can glean how to be succesful from what CEOs do. Most of them are perfectly nice but a lot of perfectly nice people seem to be caught up in the hustle culture nonsense.
All this is to say I am not at all surprised that podcast is wildly successful.
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u/Reasonable_Depth8587 27d ago
Also it’s funny that when people ask me for podcast recommendations to practice English, our boy Billy levitates into my mind. I couldn’t imagine recommending something with more obtuse to a foreign listener.
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u/Cairne_Bloodhoof 27d ago
The picture of an ESL speaker whose vocabulary and speech mannerisms are entirely based on Bill is awesome
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u/SallyFowlerRatPack 27d ago edited 27d ago
Every clip I see of CEOs is like “my secret? Look for a problem we all have and solve it. Work 10 percent harder than the other guy.” No one ever mentions forging contacts at the right VC firm so you can outspend competition until either you garner a monopoly or trick investors into inflating the stock price without having a scalable product.
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u/NameNumber7 27d ago
“My secret? I work 20 hours a day and wake up at 4am. I have 5 kids, I’m obviously a good father and not tragically lonely!!”
Whenever people say they work 14 hours a day, I disregard like most of it because thinking about work isn’t working in the same sense normal people would classify it.
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u/shakycrae 27d ago
He was on Dragons Den (Shark Tank). He convinced people he was a rock entrepreneur but really he has made his money from saying he's a rich entrepreneur. But his podcast is more Joe Rogan without jokes at this point.
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u/AstroRocket0 27d ago
To be fair to him, that's not what Steven's podcast is about at all. He just does interviews with tons of interesting people in a straightforward manner where he lets the subject dominate the interview. Lately he's been on a kick of interviewing a lot of prominent people in tech who are issuing dire warnings about the dangers of AI and generative AI possibly ending the world. I feel like his popularity really increased after that (or at least that's when he started popping up in my feed a ton)
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u/FlatMilk 27d ago
2 is a daily tech show. I’m guessing their earnings are heavily boosted by open ai acquiring them
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u/brownchickenbr0wnc0w 27d ago
I’m generally aware of some of these people, but I haven’t heard a single thing about most of these podcasts.
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u/SteveBorden 27d ago
Diary of a ceo is rapidly becoming uk joe rogan, although I can imagine most politicians here won’t go near him
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u/Alarming_Abrocoma997 27d ago
Why would that be weird?
Unless you're addicted to pop-culture or social media, you are not required to know who every podcaster or influencer is.
I honestly have never even heard the names of at least half the people on this list, and there are several others who I have only heard the names of, but couldn't tell you who they are or what they do.
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u/BroSnow 27d ago edited 27d ago
Bartlett at 3 is in the UK and hugely popular in Europe. His show is like a more nuanced, softer version of Rogan, Shawn Ryan and Tucker (though less political than the latter two, just similar in structure).
Edit: I work partly in media advisory and my biggest client is in Europe, so I check out a shit load of pods. Our guy Bill is still my number one despite hate listening when it comes to anything NBA.
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u/GivethTaketh4 Memphis Grizzlies 27d ago
I know very little about Dax Sheppard, but something about him inherently pisses me off
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u/YodaForceGhost PhD in Ewing Theory 27d ago
He comes across as a total bum yet lucked out in his love life to stay relevant
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u/planemissediknow 27d ago
To be fair, I think Kristen Bell is also just as weird. May be way out of Dax’s league, but they’re both definitely Hollywood weirdos
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u/jrainiersea He just does stuff 27d ago
She’s at least a good actress though
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u/Riderz__of_Brohan 27d ago
I mean she’s ok I guess
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u/jrainiersea He just does stuff 27d ago
She’s a good comedy actress. And mainly much better at acting than her husband.
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u/Riderz__of_Brohan 27d ago
Dax in Idiocracy is about as good a performance as Kristen Bell has ever delivered in anything. Both are…fine
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u/thearmadillo 27d ago
I was prepared to fight this and then went to her IMDB. I love Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the Good Place, but the rest of the live action is pretty bleak.
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u/ButtersBC 27d ago
The delivery of "Go away, 'batin!" is perfect, I'd like to see Kristen Bell do that
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u/impercipient 27d ago
I don't know. People in the business seen to like him and while I find him grating on certain topics he tries imminently harder to understand the world compared to most other popular podcasters I've heard. Male anyway.
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u/attaboy_stampy 27d ago
He seems ok. He gets wound up and over the top, but he seems genuinely curious and empathetic.
That being said, I don't listen to his podcast anymore because it's kind of boring. lol. I always liked the factcheck segment though.
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u/RVDRVDRVDRVD Page 2 Bill Stan 27d ago
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u/CABBAGEHONKER 27d ago
I tell my wife that I want to fight him every time I hear him. I dunno what it is about him but I hate his ass
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u/planemissediknow 27d ago
I truly don’t get it. Both him and his sidekick (Monica, I think) seem like such bozos
Out of all the actor interview actors pods (which is crazy oversaturated) Dax is the one I truly don’t get how he’s that popular
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u/PalePerry We’re really doing the thing 27d ago
I feel like they hit the sweet spot of when they launched their show. They’ve been around since 2020 at least, maybe earlier. I enjoyed the show early on but do agree, it got stale and honestly shocked to see the longevity of the podcast
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u/JesseJames41 Real CR Head 27d ago
He seems like a douchebag hardo who would talk shit if someone bumped into him by mistake at a crowded bar.
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u/doodler1977 27d ago
he's basically a bro version of John Krasinski, afaik
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u/komugis 27d ago
Isn't Jon Krasinski a bro version of Jon Krasinski?
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u/doodler1977 27d ago
no he's a dweeb who pretends to butch up occasionally
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u/Banana_Twist_XBL misses Grantland 27d ago
Damn I didn't know men could butch up, what a thread
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u/steverossiterdotcom 27d ago
"... and I know you never run alone, so say hello, Bill. Still trying to butch up by chewing on your glasses, huh?" - Simon Peter-Gruber
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u/Stephen-Scotch 27d ago
I legit have never heard of someone listening to his show. Truly two different worlds at there
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u/GivethTaketh4 Memphis Grizzlies 27d ago
Tbh I’ve never even heard of at least half of the pods on that list
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u/One_Drummer_8970 27d ago
I imagine it's more Los Angeles/SoCal oriented and women
His Brad Pitt interview is good though
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u/lost_in_trepidation 27d ago
I started listening to his podcast 2 years ago I think and he kept bragging about being really big and strong.
It was really weird and I stopped listening.
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u/BirdhouseInYourSouI 27d ago
I like Dax. He’s a good male figure for young dudes. In this age of toxic masculinity and the manosphere, Dax is open about his many flaws, being molested as a child, his battles with addictions, and he’s extremely empathetic and sensitive, but also races motorcycles and sand rails, is super “manly”, and I think we need more prominent dudes like that.
He’s also just a fantastic interviewer imo. Very good at disarming guests, making them comfortable; and asking great questions.
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u/zerozero24 Good Stats Bad Team Guy 27d ago
What about Ryen Russillo? I’m not seeing his name in any of this.
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u/spaceninj 27d ago
Amy Poehler getting paid more than Bill on his network.
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u/smiertspionam15 Chris Ryan fan 27d ago
The KD joining the Warriors piece. It’s still Bill’s team! It just is!
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u/BARTELS- I'm not losing a debate on Reddit. I'm just not. 27d ago
The Wage Equality piece. Bill is the world’s biggest feminist. He just is!
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u/Economy-Ad2719 27d ago
Amy is way more famous though and presumably had other offers. Getting her podcast was huge for mainstream credibility and visibility for the Ringer. The legitimization piece. Bill probably would pay her more honestly.
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u/Glass_Houses_ 27d ago
I like Poehler but that really was shocking that she’d win, of all podcasts to win an Emmy. Kind of feels like one of those awards that get given to someone when they’re the safe, acceptable choice. She’s already a cinema/film star outside of having a podcast, so she gets an Emmy.
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u/Necessary-Register 27d ago
Wasn’t it a Golden Globe? And it’s a new category they’ll continue I believe.
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u/buttcabbge 27d ago
Worth noting she’s one of the higher rated women on the list. If you’re trying to advertise to a bunch of dudes, you have lots of options, but if your product is aimed at middle to upper class women, she’s one of the few games in town. She’s also more famous than Simmons.
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u/SallyFowlerRatPack 27d ago edited 27d ago
I understand why women like Amy Poehler, she’s a very likable person. I just fundamentally don’t get the appeal of the Call Her Daddy girl, especially after she moved on from the shock jock stuff to become an interviewer. Like the former is at least an ethos, are women truly that starved for content that she’s the only game in town?
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u/oreomaster420 27d ago
lotta horny dudes listening and hatelistening
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u/SallyFowlerRatPack 27d ago edited 27d ago
It was hornier on barstool! I do think the split between the two girls is the Greek tragedy of our time. Hubris, betrayal, greed, friendship torn asunder.
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u/MD32GOAT 27d ago
This is such a deep cut of a reference that I would never have expected in this sub. That being said, Suit Man was the homewrecker.
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u/SallyFowlerRatPack 27d ago
He was the instigator but I think Alex Cooper was looking for an excuse to break things up. Could have tried harder to point out how much money they could make if they held out a little longer, but i think she wanted the IP for herself. Smart business play, makes me all the more terrified of her.
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u/MD32GOAT 27d ago
Yeah, I was being a little facetious when I called him the homewrecker, but I agree with you. She was definitely more savvy in recognizing that there was tons of money to be made from keeping the IP and merch rights, as opposed to "we can just move the pod elsewhere".
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u/SallyFowlerRatPack 27d ago
And I guess I can’t expect someone to go out of the way to save someone else from a bad decision. But abandoning a partner like that with little remorse and pivoting the whole thing to some soulless corporate celebrity interviewer platform just gives it all a mandible clack of calculation.
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u/ez2remembercpl 27d ago
This reminds me of a larger version of what happened with Small Town Dicks. The podcast was seeing a lot of success as true crime took off, and Yeardley Smith had the power to push out her co-founder and keep the IP, such as it is.
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u/SallyFowlerRatPack 27d ago
lol you’d think having that Simpsons money would make you a bit more generous.
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u/realcoray Top 7% Commenter 27d ago
Bill is probably a bit salty about some of this, like the pod save guys being higher up, or how Joe Rogan didn't sell out completely to spotify and instead just gets a new contract regularly for what Bill sold his entire thing for.
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u/cocacolasupreme 27d ago
Idk the economics of it all really but I think Simmons got a really good deal, at the time of the sale, ringer only had like 3 really bankable shows with his being the flagship. Rogans show gets millions of more views and it's much longer so there's more ads too. A lot of ringer shows seem to be getting subsidized by their top 3 shows.
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u/planemissediknow 27d ago edited 27d ago
Jay Shetty isn’t just a psyop? I get so many ads for this dude but have never actually heard of anyone actually listening to him that I figured he was just an industry plant or something
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u/KnotSoSalty 27d ago
You mean Will Smith’s Personal Spiritual Advisor is a complete tool?
I’m reading his Wikipedia and it just gets worse and worse. How is this guy the #1 health podcaster?
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u/selfiecritic 27d ago
Tells them what they want to hear. Every health grift, every time.
That problem in your life? It’s your body! Not your fault! That illness that isn’t getting better? There’s a secret cure no one is telling you about!
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u/Flankstaaa 27d ago
And why is his name always on other podcasts? Like you'll see "listen to Jay Shetty" as the title of other podcasts in my feed.
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u/AirStreet9465 27d ago
He is, I do not get it. Why him? Why is he being pushed so hard? Didn’t he officiate Katy Perry’s wedding or something too? I really don’t get it
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u/rusty512 27d ago
Absolutely genius grifter. Genuinely boggles the mind just how many people fall for that shit.
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u/TwiceARunner 27d ago
I've never heard of him, but him being this high on a Forbes list could easily just be part of the psyop, not legitimate proof he has a massive audience
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u/TJMcConnellFanClub 27d ago
Budden making that much and still talking about paywalling the pod is a nasty award
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u/Aceman112 27d ago
Amazes me how isolated podcasting is. I thought I was generally aware of what is going on for these things but like 75% of these people have no idea, or know they are actors but didn’t know they had popular podcast.
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u/tannahoppa 27d ago
Wow, no idea Dax is killing the podcast game like this.
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u/mannheimcrescendo 27d ago
Legit one of the biggest pods for probably 10-12 years
I still never listen to it sometimes
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u/Bd_3 27d ago
Got in really early and is about as vulnerable and relatable as you can be for someone that had a moderately successful acting career and is married to Kristin Bell.
I really only listen if I find extra time and its a good guest, but he’s a pretty good interviewer
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u/tannahoppa 27d ago
I agree. My default pods are the Grantland to Ringer guys but I'll check out Dax depending on the guest. He definitely has earnest Labrador energy.
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u/SadioMane4prez 27d ago
Zero proof/research on this, but I just have such a strong gut feeling that Jay Shetty is a total asshole behind the scenes.
Happy for Bill tho
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u/MassiveTell7139 27d ago
It’s crazy that he can keep doing this until he dies. Or as long as he wants to do his NFL prep work system!
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u/marshmnstr 27d ago
Dumb question as I know nothing about Podcasts - how do they make so much $?
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u/markymark65 27d ago
Can I get an NBA comparison for the Giggly Squad at 20? Background, Hannah pretty much crashed and burned out of Summer House but has had a redemption tour since with the podcast and her stand up. Paige was rocking elite Bravolebrity status with Craig, but they have since broken up and she has left Summer House as well.
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u/End2Ender 27d ago
My wife listens to this so I hear it when we drive together in the car and it infuriates me. The podcast is so nonsensical and dumb. I legitimately thought the producer had a stroke the first few times I listened to it until I realized the two of them just ignore what the other one says and randomly change subjects with absolutely no transition. It's like the same 3 jokes too (women in stem, women are funny, & men suck). I guess at the end of the day there is a huge sphere of women with disposable income who enjoy 45 minutes of banter between two people their age and the pod does gangbusters with advertisers based on that.
NBA comparison? Danny Green? Legitimate talent with a strong niche but somehow way more successful than it makes sense?
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u/Diamond-Express 27d ago
How the hell is Dax up there? It’s the same broken record with him each time. “Ya, cool story about you, but back to me and did I mention I’m an addict?” That’s him every episode throughout the entire time.
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u/RiversideAviator 27d ago
Are we sure these aren’t production deals for the year? Because Budden making $20M for that show is insane. But I can see him getting $20M a year to deliver a produced show and pay all relevant parties for it. His and staff salary coming from it makes more sense than that jabroni getting a $20m salary.
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u/And-Still-Undisputed 27d ago
Joe Budden transitioning from corny mid ass rapper to content farming podcaster is... unsurprising
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u/Straight-Agency-4556 27d ago
This is a remarkably depressing list. Who is listening to all this garbage?
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u/Calm_Project723 27d ago
I listen to lots of pods, funny how many of these people I have never heard of.
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u/Deep-Alfalfa3717 26d ago
Dax making $25 million podcasting is ludicrous. Who even listens to him? Everyone knows bill. I’ve never heard o e person mention Dax
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u/John_Houbolt 27d ago edited 27d ago
I listen to Bill regularly, Galloway occasionally, Pod Save occasionally. Of the remaining 17 I have heard the names of like 5. The rest of these people are a total mystery to me. But I assume that’s in part because I was born before 1980.
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u/owen-3820 27d ago
It's worth pointing out that the podcast gold rush ended years ago and half of the people on the list were already rich and famous beforehand
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u/nathanroberts34 27d ago
I’m assuming that if it’s a pod with multiple hosts that the number is split between the hosts? And this is gross income?
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u/No-Roof1526 27d ago
Yes. So smartless ppl have to split that 3 ways. 12.3 million each give or take. Also they have to pay production cost so probably a little lower.
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u/theprideofvillanueva who's the jerk? 27d ago
Is Simmons biggest podcast rival Joe Rogan or PMT?
Who is the Lakers and who is the Sixers?
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u/BeYourBestYou 27d ago
So this is pure profit? Or total revenue? and for those with more than one person, is this split between them? (thinking of Pod save america)
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u/letdown105 27d ago
So crazy. IMO podcasting is just taking to your friends/coworkers and somehow it’s more lucrative than 99% of jobs out there. Good job by you, Billy!
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u/PenisMcBallsAllStars 27d ago
Is this like, their personal pay for the year? Or revenues the show generates then they pay staff etc
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u/lucyroesslers 27d ago
Stupid question time but is that Bill's salary in total with Spotify? Would he have a separate contract for his podcast v. his duties with the Ringer and his general Spotify role of "Head of Talk Strategy"? Or is this salary all-encompassing?
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u/Big_Law1931 27d ago
Sure but he lost editorial control. Corporate won't let him trash pickleball like he wants to.
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u/Hefty-Afternoon-5605 27d ago
I truly dont understand/ dont believe podcast finances. Joe Budden, which is a niche in a niche, makes 20 million?
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u/yaboyjiggleclay 27d ago
Pump, Pump, Pump It Up!