The stunning details behind John McEnroe's $354,000 pay packet

John McEnroe. Photo / AP.

The BBC pay John McEnroe nearly $354,000 for his two-week stint covering Wimbledon, it has been revealed.

The yearly salaries of the top BBC stars were revealed on Wednesday, including those of their sports commentators and presenters.

Among those featured was American McEnroe, whose only regular appearances on television and radio come during the Wimbledon fortnight. He occasionally appears during the Aegon Championships at the Queen's Club - a week-long second-tier tournament.

McEnroe also works for US TV broadcaster ESPN during Wimbledon, so is restricted on his appearances on the BBC.

He is one of the key pundits and commentators on the TV coverage, and also hosts the 6-love-6 phone-in on BBC Radio 5Live.

However, with the BBC's tennis coverage seriously reduced outside those two weeks in summer, McEnroe rarely features for the rest of the year, meaning he is effectively paid up to £199,000 for two weeks' work.

His salary is comparable with many of the other sports presenters and pundits on the BBC, including those who appear covering numerous sports throughout the year.

Clare Balding, who hosts the Today at Wimbledon highlights programme as well as a range of other sports shows, earns the same rate as McEnroe, a pundit on the show. Balding earns between £150,000 and £199,999.

Lead Wimbledon presenter Sue Barker earns between £300,000 and £349,999, while fellow stars John Inverdale and Gabby Logan are on between £200,000 and £249,000.

The best paid BBC sports presenter is Gary Lineker, who is the second best paid member of talent in the corporation, on £1.8million. Only Chris Evans is paid more.

The Match of the Day star, 56, is among 96 presenters and journalists paid more than the Prime Minister.

Lineker wished Twitter followers a 'happy BBC salary day', and said: 'I blame my agent and the other TV channels that pay more. Now where did I put my tin helmet?'.

He also retweeted a message from The Apprentice star Lord Sugar who praised the former footballer's 'loyalty', and suggested he was getting below the market rate. Match of the Day pundit and fellow former England striker Alan Shearer earns between £400,000 and £449,999 a year.

Among the other notable sporting names, Dan Walker, who also works on Football Focus and fronted slots from the Rio Olympics, gets up to £250,000 a year.

Walker also co-hosts BBC Breakfast with Sally Nugent and Louise Minchin, who don't earn enough to break the £150,000 threshold.

The underpaying of female stars has proved particularly contentious, with some BBC figures using the hashtags #notonthelist and #GenderPayGap in tweets about their own pay.