Malika Andrews Net Worth 2026: How the NBA Today Host Made Her Millions
Malika Andrews has an estimated net worth of $1 million to $2 million in 2026. That figure comes from the cluster of recent estimates around her ESPN career — NextBiography puts her at $2 million in 2026, FamousIntel lands on $1 million, and EssentiallySports, citing Yahoo Finance, called her net worth “over $800,000” back in 2025. The lower $500,000 numbers still floating around come from older articles written before her promotion to ESPN’s top NBA studio chairs — they haven’t caught up with her current pay tier.
Quick Facts
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Malika Rose Andrews (per Wikipedia) |
| Date of Birth | January 27, 1995 (per Wikipedia) |
| Birthplace | Oakland, California, USA (per Wikipedia) |
| Nationality | American (per Wikipedia) |
| Profession | Sports journalist; ESPN host and NBA reporter (per ESPN reporting) |
| Height | 5 ft 7¼ in (1.71 m) (per Wikipedia) |
| Relationship Status | Married to ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin since August 24, 2024 (per NextBiography) |
| Net Worth (2026) | $1–$2 million (estimates from NextBiography and FamousIntel) |
| Career Start | 2017 — James Reston Reporting Fellow at The New York Times (per Wikipedia) |
| Education | University of Portland, communications degree, class of 2017 (per Wikipedia) |
Malika Andrews Net Worth in 2026
Current Estimate
Put Malika Andrews’ fortune at $1–$2 million. That’s the honest band: the newest estimate (NextBiography, 2026) says $2 million, while FamousIntel and CineNetWorth settle near $1 million, and EssentiallySports’ 2025 figure — citing Yahoo Finance — sat just over $800,000. A few fringe outlets claim $5–$8 million, but nothing in her public career history supports those numbers, so this article doesn’t use them.
Here’s the telling detail no one else has pointed out: her net-worth estimates have roughly doubled to quadrupled since 2022, moving from the ~$500,000 range up to ~$1–$2 million. That jump tracks almost exactly with her on-air portfolio — she fronted one flagship show in 2021 (NBA Today), added the NBA Draft in 2022, then took the NBA Countdown anchor chair in 2023. Each new marquee assignment lines up with a bigger estimate. Her wealth is a pay-check story, not a portfolio story, and the numbers make that visible.
How Much Did She Earn?
ESPN keeps its talent salaries private, and no official number has ever been confirmed for Andrews. What’s on record: CineNetWorth estimated her annual income around $500,000 as of 2025, while OutKick reported back in 2022 that ESPN was set to pay her “over a million dollars a year” as she moved into anchor roles. The older $50,000–$78,000 figures still quoted by some sites are relics of her beat-reporter days and don’t reflect her current contract.
Context helps here: when Andrews signed her multi-year extension in September 2025 — announced by ESPN itself and reported by EssentiallySports — the network was locking in its top NBA voices, the same year Stephen A. Smith’s $100 million extension reset the market. Her new deal covered NBA Today, NBA Countdown, WNBA Countdown, the NBA Draft, plus added sideline assignments (per Yardbarker). A host carrying four flagship properties plus sidelines is not being paid a reporter’s salary — which is why the credible salary band sits well above half a million.
Net Worth Growth
| Year | Estimated Net Worth | Key Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Under $100,000 | Joined ESPN as an online NBA writer after the Chicago Tribune (per Wikipedia) |
| 2020 | ~$200,000 | Breakout from the NBA Bubble; youngest sideline reporter ever on a Conference Finals telecast |
| 2021 | ~$500,000 | Took over NBA Today, replacing Rachel Nichols; named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in sports |
| 2022 | ~$800,000 | First woman to host the NBA Draft; won a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality – Emerging On-Air Talent (per Yardbarker) |
| 2025 | ~$1 million | Signed multi-year ESPN extension; Yahoo Finance-cited estimates cross $800,000 |
| 2026 | $1–$2 million | Hosts NBA Today, NBA Countdown, WNBA Countdown and the NBA Draft (per Yardbarker, Sept 2026) |
Year-by-year figures are directional estimates based on reported career milestones; only the 2026 range carries direct source estimates.
Sources of Income
ESPN Salary (Primary)
The bulk of her wealth comes from her ESPN contract — the weekday NBA Today chair, the NBA Countdown anchor desk, WNBA Countdown, and draft coverage. Her September 2025 multi-year extension (announced by ESPN on X) is the deal that moved her firmly into top-tier sports-broadcaster pay, with estimates ranging from ~$500,000 to over $1 million per year.
NBA Draft & Special Event Hosting
Since 2022 she has anchored the NBA Draft — she was the first woman ever to host it — and she added extra sideline assignments under the new extension. Marquee event work at ESPN typically carries its own premiums on top of the base hosting salary.
Digital & Radio Appearances
Andrews contributes across ESPN platforms — ESPN.com, SportsCenter and ESPN Radio (per FamousIntel). These are part of her staff role rather than separate paychecks, but they keep her visible year-round, which feeds the contract value.
Endorsements & Speaking
No public endorsement deals have been disclosed for Andrews — unlike many TV personalities, she hasn’t been linked to brand partnerships in any credible report. Her wealth is salary-built, which also explains why her net worth, while impressive for her age, hasn’t ballooned into the eight-figure range some competitors claim.
| Assignment | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|
| NBA Today | Weekday host, replacing Rachel Nichols | 2021 |
| NBA Draft | Host — first woman ever | 2022 |
| NBA Countdown | Anchor, replacing Mike Greenberg | 2023 |
| Conference Finals telecast | Youngest-ever sideline reporter | 2020 |
| WNBA Countdown | Host, under the September 2025 extension | 2025 |
Early Life
Malika Rose Andrews was born on January 27, 1995, in Oakland, California (per Wikipedia), and grew up a Golden State Warriors fan. Her father, Mike Andrews, is a personal trainer; her mother, Caren Andrews, is an art teacher. Andrews is of Jewish descent through her mother and had a bat mitzvah in 2008 (per Wikipedia).
School was turbulent: she started eighth grade at Head-Royce School in Oakland, then spent a year at a therapeutic boarding school in Utah, graduating at 17 in 2012 (per Wikipedia). Before college she worked for a year at her grandfather’s civil rights law firm. At the University of Portland, where she earned a communications degree in 2017, she wrote for The Beacon, the student newspaper, rising to sports editor and then editor-in-chief — and one of her investigations into an injured player led the school to install protective padding after he crashed into a wall (per Wikipedia).
Career Journey
- 2017: James Reston Reporting Fellow in the sports department of The New York Times (per Wikipedia); earlier, an internship at The Denver Post (per FamousIntel).
- 2017–2018: Reporter for the Chicago Tribune, covering the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks (per FamousIntel).
- October 2018: Joined ESPN as an online NBA writer (per Wikipedia).
- 2020: Covered the NBA season inside the Florida “bubble” — one of the first reporters on site — and debuted as ESPN’s youngest-ever sideline reporter for a Conference Finals broadcast (per Wikipedia).
- 2021: Replaced Rachel Nichols as host of NBA Today (per Yardbarker); worked the NBA Finals as a sideline reporter; named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 sports list (per Wikipedia).
- 2022: Became the first woman to host the NBA Draft (per Yardbarker); won the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality – Emerging On-Air Talent (per Yardbarker).
- 2023: Replaced Mike Greenberg as host of NBA Countdown (per Yardbarker).
- September 2025: ESPN announced a multi-year contract extension; the network confirmed she would keep leading NBA Today, NBA Countdown, WNBA Countdown and the Draft (per EssentiallySports and Yardbarker).
- 2026: Still fronting ESPN’s basketball coverage — 2026 sit-downs include Zion Williamson and Giannis Antetokounmpo on NBA Today (per SportsOnUSA aggregator reporting).
Personal Life
Andrews married fellow ESPN NBA reporter Dave McMenamin on August 24, 2024, in the San Francisco area near her hometown (per NextBiography). McMenamin has covered the league for ESPN since 2009 and is known for his Lakers beat. The couple met while she was still a print reporter at The New York Times; they kept the relationship private for years, and Andrews has said publicly that people tend to fill information gaps with assumptions (quoted by NextBiography). She has no children as of 2026 (per NextBiography).
Her younger sister, Kendra Andrews, is also in sports journalism — hired by ESPN in December 2021 to cover the Golden State Warriors (per Wikipedia), after a stint at NBC Sports Bay Area.
Lifestyle
Andrews keeps her off-camera life notably quiet — no flaunted car collection, no real-estate headlines. NextBiography notes her Instagram mixes NBA coverage with personal interests like equestrian riding and reading, and that she wears a diamond pendant necklace gifted by her husband on her 25th birthday almost every day. For someone carrying four flagship shows, her public footprint is deliberately low-key.
How Did Malika Andrews Become ESPN's Face of the NBA?
It was never one lucky break — it was a pile of firsts. Andrews joined ESPN in October 2018 as an online NBA writer, then reported from inside the 2020 NBA Bubble and became the network’s youngest-ever sideline reporter on a Conference Finals broadcast. In 2021 she took over NBA Today, in 2022 she became the first woman to host the NBA Draft and won a Sports Emmy, and in 2023 she replaced Mike Greenberg on NBA Countdown. By the time ESPN signed her to a multi-year extension in September 2025, she was fronting four flagship basketball properties at age 30 — a climb most broadcasters never make in a lifetime.
Conclusion
Malika Andrews’ $1–$2 million fortune is the honest math of a career that moved faster than almost anyone in sports media: from a 2018 beat-writer salary to the anchor of ESPN’s entire NBA lineup by 2023. With a fresh multi-year extension keeping her at the center of NBA Today, NBA Countdown, the Draft and the WNBA, her earnings still have room to run — and at 31, she’s just entering the years when top broadcasters cash in biggest.
Who is Malika Andrews' sister?
Her younger sister is Kendra Andrews, also a sports journalist. Kendra covered the Golden State Warriors for NBC Sports Bay Area before ESPN hired her in December 2021 to keep covering the Warriors — making the Andrews sisters a rare sibling duo inside ESPN’s NBA coverage.
What did Malika Andrews do before joining ESPN?
Before ESPN, Andrews was a James Reston Reporting Fellow in the sports department of The New York Times in 2017, then spent 2017–2018 as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune covering the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks. An internship at The Denver Post came earlier. She joined ESPN in October 2018 as an online NBA writer.
Has Malika Andrews won any awards?
Yes — she won the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality – Emerging On-Air Talent in 2022, and she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 sports list in 2021.
What was Malika Andrews' breakout moment at ESPN?
Her 2020 reporting from inside the NBA Bubble in Florida. She was one of the first reporters on site for the restarted season, and her work there made her ESPN’s youngest-ever sideline reporter for a Conference Finals broadcast — the breakout that lifted her into a new pay tier.
What is Malika Andrews' ethnic background?
Andrews is of Jewish descent through her mother and had a bat mitzvah in 2008. Her father, Mike Andrews, is a personal trainer, and her mother, Caren Andrews, is an art teacher.
FAQs
What is Malika Andrews’ net worth?
Malika Andrews’ net worth is estimated between $1 million and $2 million in 2026, according to NextBiography ($2M) and FamousIntel ($1M). Older $500,000 estimates are outdated — they predate her 2025 contract extension.
How much does Malika Andrews make at ESPN?
Her exact salary is not public. Industry estimates put it between ~$500,000 a year (CineNetWorth) and over $1 million (OutKick, 2022). ESPN signed her to a multi-year extension in September 2025 covering NBA Today, NBA Countdown, WNBA Countdown and the NBA Draft.
Is Malika Andrews married?
Yes. She married Dave McMenamin, a fellow ESPN NBA reporter (Lakers beat), on August 24, 2024, in the San Francisco area (per NextBiography).
How old is Malika Andrews?
She was born on January 27, 1995, in Oakland, California (per Wikipedia), making her 31 years old in 2026.
Where did Malika Andrews go to college?
The University of Portland, where she graduated in 2017 with a communications degree and served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Beacon (per Wikipedia).
What shows does Malika Andrews host?
As of 2026, she hosts ESPN’s NBA Today (weekdays), NBA Countdown, WNBA Countdown and the NBA Draft, plus sideline reporting assignments (per Yardbarker).
Does Malika Andrews have children?
No — she has no children as of 2026 (per NextBiography).
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