Former world No.1 John McEnroe has defended his pay at the BBC by saying that he deserves to receive that amount.
Earlier this year an argument erupted when it was discovered that the 59-year-old is paid at least £150,000 for his work during the grass-court grand slam. A panorama investigation found that another former world No.1, Martina Navratilova, was paid only £15,000 for her work during the same period.
“It’s hard to compare exactly because some people work longer days maybe a few more programmes, whatever but overall, it was a shock because John McEnroe makes at least £150,000.” Navratilova told Panorama.
“I get about £15,000 for Wimbledon and unless John McEnroe is doing a whole bunch of stuff outside of Wimbledon he’s getting at least ten times as much money for very comparable work, so yea, at the moment that’s what I know.”
Leading into this year’s Wimbledon championships, which will get underway on Monday, McEnroe has defended his pay. Arguing that individuals should be paid for their quality of work regardless of their gender.
“I don’t think it’s simply like people receiving the same pay,” McEnroe said. “You’re not going out and playing Wimbledon or the US Open, this is a totally different animal.
“It’s like if you work at a paper and there’s a women and a man, you’re going to, I believe, get paid based on the job that you do in the opinion of the paper. And, if the girl does the better job, she should get more money. That’s what it boils down to.”
The BBC has previously said that McEnroe received a significantly higher salary than Navratilova because he was on air ‘three times longer’ and was on a different contract. Although, an investigation in January found an average gender pay gap of 6.8% among on-air staff within the organisation.
Navratilova, who won nine Wimbledon titles between 1978-1990, will be working at the BBC once again this year. On social media she wrote that she was ‘very happy’ to returning to the position. Later adding that it was “good to see the BBC taking gender pay equality seriously”.
McEnroe will also be returning once again. Keeping candid about if he will be doing the same role as previous years, he believes his work with the organisation has been ‘mutually beneficial.’
“I believe so. That’s up to the BBC. But I’ve been fortunate that over at least 15 years it has given me the opportunity to present myself in a different way. At least people see me in a slightly different light than they saw me on the court. I think it’s been mutually beneficial.” He said.
The BBC has the domestic rights to broadcast Wimbledon until at least 2024.
