Elise Menaker’s net worth is estimated at around $1 million as of July 2026, earned mostly through her two broadcasting contracts — covering the Chicago Cubs for Marquee Sports Network and working as a host, sideline reporter and softball analyst for Big Ten Network. She is not publicly married, and based on her reported birth date of October 26, 1988, she is 37 years old. Here’s the full picture: how she earns, how she got from an Ivy League softball diamond to Wrigley Field’s broadcast booth, and what is actually verifiable about her life away from the camera.
Elise Menaker at a glance
Who is Elise Menaker?
Elise Menaker is an American sports broadcaster who wears more hats than most people in the business. On Marquee Sports Network she hosts Chicago Cubs pre- and post-game coverage and works as a reporter and analyst. On Big Ten Network she handles football sideline reporting, softball analysis and studio hosting.
What separates her from most studio hosts is that she played the game at a high level first. She was an All-Ivy League infielder at Cornell University, later played professional softball in Sweden, and only then trained as a journalist at Northwestern’s Medill School. That mix — athlete’s instincts plus reporter’s discipline — is the foundation of her on-air style. She even studied improv at The Second City in Chicago, which explains the quick wit that surfaces during live broadcasts.
Elise Menaker’s net worth in 2026
Publicly available information suggests Elise Menaker’s net worth is roughly $1 million as of 2026. She has never disclosed her finances, so treat this as an informed estimate, not a confirmed figure — regional sports broadcasters’ contracts are private, unlike athlete salaries published by leagues.
The estimate rests on two things: her dual network roles since 2020, and standard pay ranges in her market. Holding positions at two networks simultaneously — Marquee and Big Ten Network — is uncommon and effectively means two income streams from broadcasting alone.
Salary: what she likely earns
Her annual salary is estimated in the range of $92,000–$95,000, in line with industry averages for experienced regional sports network hosts and analysts in a major market like Chicago. Earnings reportedly stepped up meaningfully after Marquee Sports Network hired her in 2020 for its launch as the Cubs’ dedicated channel.
Income sources beyond the two networks
- Broadcasting contracts — her core income, from Marquee Sports Network and Big Ten Network
- Freelance hosting and podcast work — Cubs-focused shows and Marquee studio segments
- Personalised video requests — she has offered fan videos through Cameo
- Speaking engagements — sports media events and Cornell alumni functions
- Occasional brand partnerships — typically tied to Chicago sports
How we handle numbers like this: figures are built from public information and clearly labelled as estimates — see how we calculate net worth.
Is Elise Menaker married?
No — Elise Menaker is not publicly married as of July 2026. No husband, fiancé or current partner has been confirmed through any verified channel, and she has kept her romantic life almost entirely separate from her public profile.
She has referenced dating in passing over the years — including a light-hearted social media mention of a boyfriend during her Milwaukee reporting days around 2015 — but she has never publicly identified a partner. She has no publicly known children. Given how deliberately she draws that line, any site listing a “husband” for her is guessing; we don’t.
How old is Elise Menaker?
Elise Menaker is 37 years old as of July 2026, based on her reported birth date of October 26, 1988 — which would make her a Scorpio, for readers who track that sort of thing. The timeline checks out against verifiable milestones: she was born and raised in Wilmette, Illinois, and graduated from Cornell in 2010, exactly where a 1988 birth year would place a standard four-year degree.
Family and early life in Wilmette
Elise grew up in Wilmette, on Chicago’s North Shore, the daughter of Ed and Pam Menaker, with an older sister and a younger brother. Cubs fandom was a family inheritance: annual trips on the L to Wrigley Field were a tradition, and she has often described those games as the start of everything.
Two parental influences shaped her career directly. Her father supplied the baseball obsession. Her mother pushed her toward internships during college — which is how a young Cornell student ended up on the field at U.S. Cellular Field as an ABC7 intern in 2009, the day Mark Buehrle threw his perfect game.
Education: New Trier, Cornell and Medill
At New Trier High School she was a standout softball player. From there she went to Cornell University, where she became one of the best hitters in program history: per Cornell Athletics, she graduated in 2010 as the career record-holder for doubles (53), batted .363 across her career — fourth-best in program history — and helped the Big Red win two Ivy League titles with two NCAA Regional appearances. Cornell inducted her into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020.
After college she added the journalism half of her toolkit: a master’s in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School, where she was a Bloomberg scholar, plus improv training at The Second City. That combination — record-setting athlete, trained journalist, comedy background — is rarer in sports TV than you’d think, and it’s why she can move between analysis, reporting and hosting without changing gears.
Career: from Swedish softball to Wrigley Field
Professional softball, then local news
Her first job out of Cornell wasn’t in a studio — it was on a diamond in Sweden, playing professional softball for the Skövde Saints in 2010. When she came home, she started at the bottom of the TV ladder: general assignment reporting at KMIZ-TV in Columbia, Missouri, then news reporting at WAND-TV in Decatur, Illinois, where she worked her way up to morning news anchor while volunteering for sports assignments on the side.
Milwaukee: three years on the Packers beat
In 2014 she moved to WTMJ (TMJ4) in Milwaukee as a sports reporter, covering the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks. Covering an NFL locker room week after week is where field reporters either sharpen up or wash out; three Wisconsin winters later, she had a major-market reel.
Big Ten Network and the move home
In 2017 she returned to Chicago to join Big Ten Network as a football sideline reporter, softball analyst and studio host — the first role that used her playing career and her reporting chops at the same time. She still holds those duties today.
Marquee Sports Network and the Cubs
When the Cubs launched their own channel in 2020, Marquee Sports Network hired her as a studio host and reporter — the kid who rode the L to Wrigley now fronting the team’s own network. Per MLB.com’s press release, she was announced alongside Cubs legend Mark Grace, and the Chicago Tribune later reported her addition as an analyst on Marquee’s Triple-A Iowa Cubs telecasts.
Historic firsts and an Emmy
In 2022, Menaker became the first woman ever to serve as a television analyst on a Chicago Cubs game. In 2023 she added the radio version of the same first, and she was part of the franchise’s first all-female TV broadcast alongside Beth Mowins and Taylor McGregor. Her show “Road to Wrigley” won a Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy Award in 2023. Through the 2026 season she has continued hosting Cubs coverage, podcasts and Marquee studio segments.
Height and athletic background
Elise Menaker stands 5 feet 7 inches (about 170 cm) — that one comes straight from her Cornell University softball roster, so it’s as reliable as this kind of detail gets. Her build reflects years as a Division I infielder. You’ll find sites listing her exact weight and body measurements; those numbers have never been publicly confirmed by any credible source, so we don’t publish them.
Elise Menaker on social media
She’s active on X (formerly Twitter) as @EliseMenaker and on Instagram as @elisemenaker. The feeds are mostly work: Cubs coverage, Big Ten games, behind-the-scenes broadcast shots, Cornell softball pride and Chicago sports banter with fans — with occasional family and friends moments mixed in. If you want to verify what she’s doing in any given month, her own accounts are the best primary source there is.
Fast facts about Elise Menaker
- Inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020 for her softball career
- Graduated as Cornell’s career doubles record-holder (53) with a .363 career average
- Won two Ivy League titles and reached two NCAA Regionals with the Big Red
- Played professional softball for Sweden’s Skövde Saints in 2010
- Was on the field as an ABC7 intern for Mark Buehrle’s 2009 perfect game
- First woman to work as both a TV and radio analyst on Cubs broadcasts
- Emmy winner — “Road to Wrigley” took a Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy in 2023
- Originally dreamed of being Vogue’s fashion editor before choosing sports journalism
The bottom line
Elise Menaker built a seven-figure net worth the slow way: a decade of local news dues, two network jobs held at once, and a set of firsts no other Cubs broadcaster can claim. The money story here is really a career story — steady, compounding, and still climbing as of 2026. She keeps the personal side private, and the honest answer on her relationship status is the simple one: not publicly married, and not telling.
Frequently asked questions
Is Elise Menaker married?
No. As of July 2026 she is not publicly married, and no partner has been confirmed through verified sources. She keeps her personal life private and has no publicly known children.
What is Elise Menaker’s net worth?
Her net worth is estimated at around $1 million as of 2026, built mainly on her broadcasting contracts with Marquee Sports Network and Big Ten Network. She has never confirmed her finances, so this is an estimate from publicly available information.
How old is Elise Menaker?
She is 37 years old as of July 2026, based on her reported birth date of October 26, 1988. She was born in Wilmette, Illinois.
What does Elise Menaker do for Marquee Sports Network?
She works as a studio host, reporter and analyst on Chicago Cubs coverage — including pre- and post-game shows, podcasts and Triple-A Iowa Cubs telecasts — and has done so since the network launched in 2020.
Why is Elise Menaker famous?
She made Cubs history twice: first woman to serve as a TV analyst on a Cubs game (2022) and first woman to call one as a radio analyst (2023). She also won a Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy in 2023 for “Road to Wrigley”.
Where did Elise Menaker go to college?
Cornell University (class of 2010), where she was a record-setting softball infielder, followed by a master’s in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School as a Bloomberg scholar.
Sources
- Cornell Big Red Athletics — “Sports Represent More Than a Game for Hall of Famer Menaker ’10” and Elise Menaker’s softball roster page
- MLB.com press release — Marquee Sports Network adds Mark Grace and Elise Menaker as on-air personalities
- Chicago Tribune — Marquee Sports Network adds Elise Menaker as analyst for Triple-A Iowa Cubs telecasts
- Marquee Sports Network — announcement of the first all-female broadcast in Cubs history; Cornell Hall of Fame induction feature
- Des Moines Register — profile of Elise Menaker’s Marquee Sports Network role
- Elise Menaker’s verified social accounts — @EliseMenaker (X), @elisemenaker (Instagram)