Jon Champion is a sports commentator who is currently employed by ESPN and BT Sport. He has been a commentator since 1990 and performed his duties in various positions including being a commentator, analyst, and presenter in different sports tournaments.
Jon Champion’s net worth is estimated at $2 million as of 2019. His major source of income is his career as a sportscaster. He earns an average annual salary of $60,000.
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Jon Champion’s Biography & Personal Life
Jon Champion is a household name that does not need an official introduction. He contributes to BBC TV’s Grandstand and BBC Radio 5 Live’s coverage of rugby league and football. Jon has covered football, rugby league, cricket, and swimming, and reported on three Olympic Games.
While working for BBC Radio, Jon began his career as a football commentator/reporter. He eventually moved to BBC Radio 2 network sport and, finally, to Radio 5 Live, where he has his show, Champion’s Sport. Here’s a highlight of Jon’s life.
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Name
Jonathan Martin Champion
Date of Birth
23rd of May, 1965
Place of Birth
Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, UK
Club supported
York City Football Club (York City FC)
Nationality
British
Education
Archbishop Holgate Grammar School, York, University of Leeds
Profession
Pro Evolution Soccer Commentator, Journalist, Sports Commentator
father
David Champion
Zodiac Sign
Gemini
Weight
189 lbs
Height
6’3
Net Worth
About £1 million
Wife
Anna
Children
Four (Emily, Ben, Harry, and Will)
Jon Champion, born 23rd May 1965 in Harrogate, England, is a British television pundit who now works for ESPN as a freelancing journalist.
His late father, David Champion, was the deputy headmaster of Bootham School, a private independent school in York before he died.
Several Premier League and Carling Cup matches are broadcast live worldwide on the internet, and folks may hear Jon’s analyses there as well.
Jon is married to Anna. Together, they have four lovely kids named Emily, Ben, Harry, and Will.
Jon Champion is a supporter of York City, which he regularly visits. Jon lives in the Oxford shire countryside with his wife and four children.
Generally, Jon Champion lives a quiet life, and the prominent information you can find about him is basically about his career. Very little information exists about his personal life.
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Jon Champion’s Career With BBC
The BBC Radio York station was where Jon Champion started his broadcasting career as a pundit and reporter.
In 1988, he moved to BBC Radio Leeds and then to BBC Radio 2 network sports.
In the 1990s, he became a BBC Radio 5 Live staff and was a part of their commentary team. There, he worked with the likes of Alan Green and Mike Ingham. He also hosted his radio show, Champion Sport, which aired on the station.
When the BBC’s John Motson was away on sabbatical, Champion made his television commentary debut for Match of the Day, commentating on Coventry City’s match against Nottingham Forest in the Premiership.
He decided to switch careers permanently and became a BBC TV football squad member the following year.
As well as providing coverage for the BBC’s Premier League and FA Cup matches, Champion also provided commentary for the World Cup in 1998 – when, among other things, the channel trusted him to call Argentina v England – and the Euro 2000 tournament.
Jon Champion Career With ITV
In 2001, the broadcast rights for Premier League highlights were transferred from Sky to ITV, and Champion Football Club followed suit. In addition, he was in charge of ITV’s Carling Cup coverage.
Aside from that, he has provided commentary on several matches in the Premiership, Football League, and UEFA Champions League.
He is one of the primary commentators for TWI’s international feed of Premier League matches, with Alan Parry and Martin Tyler.
As a member of the ITV crew for both the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan and the Euro 2004 tournament, he was given the honor of commentating on one of England’s matches. 2006 saw Champion’s third World Cup as a television pundit, his second with ITV, and his third with the BBC.
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During England’s five games in the tournament, including their quarter-final loss to Portugal, Champion served as the color commentator for two of the games.
Jon Champion Career With Setanta Sports
During the summer of 2007, Setanta Sports announced that they had hired Jon Champion to commentate for them non-exclusive. This was a significant milestone in Jon’s career as a sports commentator.
Champion split his time between ITV and Setanta, working on the Champions League, UEFA Cup, and Football League with ITV. Fortunately, he now had an equal share of Setanta’s 46 live Premier League games alongside Ian Crocker, with whom he shared a similar amount of time.
Setanta’s first-ever live Premier League match – Aston Villa vs. Liverpool – was broadcast live on Saturday, August 11, 2007. Champion was in the commentary box with co-commentator Craig Burley to provide analysis.
During the 2008-2009 Euro Championship qualification campaign, Champion also provided commentary for several ‘live’ England internationals, including the memorable 4-1 victory against Croatia.
In 2009, he made his first-ever FA Cup Final appearance as a pundit, a commentary on the match between Everton and Chelsea.
Jon Champion’s Career With ESPN
Following the demise of Setanta, he accepted a position as the primary Premier League commentator for ESPN, in addition to his ongoing work for the Premier League’s worldwide broadcasting.
Jon Champion Career With Konami
In the Pro Evolution Soccer series from Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 through Pro Evolution Soccer 2015, Champion served as the series’ initial commentator. This role he held until Pro Evolution Soccer 2016.
From Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 to Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, he collaborated with analyst and former Irish international Mark Lawrenson on several projects.
Between Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2015, he collaborated with ITV commentator Jim Beglin on the game.
Peter Drury took over as the commentator for Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, and he was a welcome addition.
As a co-producer with BBC commentator Mark Lawrenson on Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, Champion has collaborated with the Japanese entertainment business Konami.
A Career With ITV
It was no surprise when Champion stretched his portfolio even further by becoming a crucial part of ITV’s coverage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.
Well, he had already commented on Test Match Special, Rugby League, and Swimming during his tenure with the BBC.
Even though Sky’s Miles Harrison headed ITV’s commentary team, Champion remained on the air throughout the tournament, commenting on the semi-final between South Africa and Argentina and the third-place play-off between Argentina and France, among others games.
Jon Champion Net Worth
Jon Champion is a British professional football commentator who has a net worth of $2 million. Champion has been covering games for more than three decades and can be heard on Sky Sports in addition to being the lead announcer for the Pro Evolution Soccer video game.
Controversies about Jon Champion
Even though Jon Champion has had his share of controversies, the most notable has been the incident of 2013 where he was cut off air mid-speech.
Commentator Jon Champion was cut off live on American channel ESPN while mid-rant about the Glazer ownership after Manchester United fans’ protests.
Manchester United fans hit the news in the States after demonstrating against the Glazer family, which forced their match against Liverpool to be postponed.
Thousands were gathered outside Old Trafford, with hundreds breaking into the stadium to voice their discontent on the pitch on two separate occasions.
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Well-known commentator Champion, ITV’s leading broadcaster for England games, was in mid-conversation with ex-USA international Taylor Twellman in the ESPN studio.
Twellman gave his view on the protests and postponement, saying: “Here in the United States, everything we do in sports is franchised,” before he was interrupted by Champion.
“Don’t mention that word; I hate that word. Because that has no place in our lexicon when we talk about European sports clubs,” he said.
“They’re clubs with beating hearts, not franchises. You have Manchester United, one of the Super League clubs, is owned by the Glazer family, who is widely despised as absentee owners.
“They bought the club by loading debt onto it. They don’t show any signs of care for it.
“And yet this is the thing which dominates the lives of so many of its followers, that’s why…” at which point ESPN switched to an advertisement break, cutting Champion off mid-flow.
Abruptly, he was silenced by the network while speaking out against the Glazers. ESPN claimed that the abrupt switch was down to technical difficulties.
Pro Evolution Soccer Quotes
“Coaches so often say to players, treat the ball as a friend!!!”
“Keep an eye on the touchline; it promises to be pyrotechnic down there, the football match should be good but that dust-up, well I’d pay a big subscription to watch that!!!”
“The commencement of hostilities, ambulances are on standby, health insurance policies have been checked, the physios are going to be busy!!!”
Amusing Quotes as a commentator
Match Intro – Arsenal vs. Man Utd (January 2007) “Meetings between these clubs are never dull, they are often momentous. League championships have been won… tempers have been lost… pizzas have been thrown.”
In the 94th minute of Turkey vs. the Czech Republic (June 2008), “If a spaceship landed in the center circle, direct from Mars, I wouldn’t be surprised now.”
Just after kick-off in the England v Czech Republic international friendly (August 2008), “His predecessor was a legend, but he just looks like a plumber.” About the Czech Republic manager.
Manchester United v Middlesbrough (December 2008) “And here is Ronaldo…and he’s fallen over.”
Newcastle’s 3 – 0 loss to Liverpool (May 2009) and two matches shy of relegation, after a lingering camera shot from behind the goal, a knotted bit of netting can be seen. “Is that the hangman’s rope in the picture there? Newcastle, hovering over the trap door.”
After a goal by Joleon Lescott, Liverpool vs. Everton (January 2009), “As a paid-up member of the center-backs union, he’ll be forced to retire after scoring from there.”
Conclusion
We must admit that Jon Champion is a champion in his own right. Today, he is so popular that his name still stands out even though he is not a footballer. Just like Jim Beglin, the efficiency with which he generates statistics and data throughout a game makes one assume that he has the Google search engine in his thoughts at all times.
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