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If you ever needed more proof that ESPN has plenty of money to burn through, look no further than Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and his time on the morning debate show First Take.
During an interview with the Howard Stern Show on Wednesday, Russo revealed just how much he is making for his First Take appearances.
Per Russo, he’s making a whopping $10,000 per show and has a contract for 40 weeks.
With a Wednesday appearance each week, that’s a whopping $400,000 that “Mad Dog” will be raking in for his screaming matches with Stephen A. Smith.
Chris "Mad Dog" Russo tells Howard Stern he's being paid $10,000 for each "First Take" appearance and he has a contract to do the show for 40 weeks.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) June 22, 2022
To be fair to ESPN, Russo always has ridiculous and outrageous takes that are so far away from the reality that they go viral on social media. That means more people will tune in.
So while it may be painful to our ears to hear the constant screaming and painful for our brains to try to comprehend the god-awful takes, it’s obviously lucrative for the Worldwide Leader in Sports.