Rachel Maddow reportedly takes $5M pay cut to stay at MSNBC

MSNBC star anchor Rachel Maddow has quietly renegotiated her contract with the network — a move that includes a pay cut.

Maddow, who had been making a reported $30 million a year, agreed to take $25 million a year, according The Ankler reporting. The deal is said to be good for three years.

In 2022, Maddow and MSNBC negotiated an unusual deal — she’d be paid more money to work less. Part of that plan included moving her signature “Rachel Maddow Show” to a weekly format while also giving her a lead spot in anchoring the network’s key political coverage.

At the time, Maddow reportedly was exploring other options outside of television, including working on a film project and podcasts. MSNBC, however, wanted to keep her on board, given that her show was regularly one of its strongest performers. She and her show also had strong brand recognition with viewers. 

MSNBC execs were also reportedly concerned that she might jump to another network, taking her name recognition with her, so they ultimately landed on a deal for her to appear on TV for one hour most weeks, down from the five she had typically done. The contract also allowed her flexibility to work on outside projects as well as collaborations with MSNBC and NBCUniversal.

Going forward, Maddow is reportedly expected to continue anchoring Monday evenings and during major political events, but may also be used more during breaking news and other major stories. She’s also likely to contribute podcasts and documentaries as well as potentially appear during other programs as well, though the exact details are not clear.

MSNBC does stand to save $5 million a year under the new deal — and potentially get more content out of Maddow that can be monetized.

With news that Comcast, the parent of NBCU, will spinoff most of its cable properties, including MSNBC, into its own publicly-traded company in an effort to separate its financials from its declining cable and broadcast portfolio, the future of MSNBC is even more questionable, according to multiple reports and The Ankler.

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The network may see talent and schedule shakeups as it moved forward under not only a pending new corporate structure but also the second Donald Trump administration. Some outlets have reported this will include layoffs and other significant cost-cutting measures as the broadcast industry as a whole braces for a tougher 2025. 

MSNBC is largely considered to be a more progressive network, and its ratings have sunk as much as 40% since Trump won the 2024 election. Many of its opinion hosts were anti-MAGA and pro-Kamala Harris. 

However, it’s not clear how a left-leaning network might function under what is likely to be a dramatic and shaky second Trump term, especially given that many of its viewers were likely surprised over Harris’ stunning loss.

During the first Trump term, the network opted to give anti-Trump Republican-leaning hosts such as Nicole Wallace more airtime (her show has literally doubled in length since the the first time Trump was in office). 

None of the potential plans mentioned by The Ankler or other outlets were confirmed by the network or other executives and most of the reporting relied on unnamed sources within MSNBC. 

Another strong point at MSNBC, “Morning Joe,” has also seen its ratings dip after it was revealed its married co-anchors, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, had a private meeting with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort. While the meeting was billed as a way to attempt to propel reporting and political commentary forward in a constructive manner, many viewers have objected to the largely off-the-record meeting, which was not announced in advance. 

Scarborough and Brzezinski recently sparred with MSNBC management after the network opted to preempt “Morning Joe” in July 2024 after an attempted assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

Execs reportedly wanted to “avoid a scenario in which one of the show’s stable of two dozen-plus guests might make an inappropriate comment on live television that could be used to assail the program and network as a whole.”