Starring on a hit TV show means making a ton of money from the network. Salaries will vary, but if you happen to star on one of the most popular sitcoms on TV, then you're probably going to make life-changing money that will have you set until the end of your days.
Seinfeld is a classic, and the stars made plenty of cash for fresh episodes. However, they infamously lost out on so much more. They could not pull off what the cast of Friends managed to with their lucrative contracts, and as a result, they don't make a whole lot from the show's reruns.
Let's take a look at Seinfeld and see who's really making the money these days.
How Much Did 'Seinfeld' Stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, And Jason Alexander Make For Reruns?
Back in 1989, NBC unleashed Seinfeld, a show that got off to a slow start, but that eventually blossomed into one of the biggest and most successful sitcoms to ever hit the small screen.
Starring Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, and Jason Alexander, this hilarious sitcom was a show about nothing, and yet, it was able to earn a loyal audience of millions during its peak years on TV. Simply put, Seinfeld was the king of the '90s, and few shows came close to matching what it did each week.
For nine seasons and 180 episodes, Seinfeld was a force of nature, and eventually, it ended with an episode that still draws the ire of fans. Nevertheless, the show has an enduring legacy, and the lead performers on the show benefited greatly from the collective success of the series.
Thanks to the success that the series was able to find during its run on TV, the cast made bank, especially Jerry Seinfeld, who wound up making hundreds of millions of dollars from the show.
Jerry Seinfeld Made Hundreds Of Millions
Being a co-creator and the lead star on a series certainly has its perks, and Jerry Seinfeld is proof of this. Everyone on the show made their fair share of money, but none of the other stars came remotely close to landing what Jerry was able to take home.
Per Yahoo, "David and Seinfeld can each make $400 million per syndication cycle, New York Magazine reported."
These checks helped Seinfeld amass his $950 million net worth, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
When you take into consideration the fact that Seinfeld is constantly being played on a number of TV stations, and the fact that it is a red-hot streaming property, it is clear to see how and why Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David continue to cash-in on the hit series.
It is great to see that Jerry made his money, but the rest of the cast makes little in comparison.
The Rest Of The Cast Make Pennies In Comparison
Unfortunately, the primary cast of the show is not making nearly as much money as people would assume. This is because they were unable to negotiate a portion of the show's profits. Being unable to do so wound up costing the cast millions of dollars in the long run.
According to Yahoo, "One of the most beloved and successful sitcoms of all time, "Seinfeld" -- the show about nothing -- ran for nine seasons, ending in 1998. As far as payouts to the cast, Jerry Seinfeld and co-creator Larry David take the lion's share of royalties because co-stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards and Jason Alexander don't own a stake in the show, according to International Business Times."
Yes, they were still making around $1 million per episode at one point, but they lost out on so much more after leaving the negotiating table.
These days, they are making industry standard pay for syndication. That's nothing compared to Jerry, and it's a shame that things played out that way.
This is a stark contrast to the cast of Friends, who were able to negotiate a portion of the profits of the show. Thanks to Friends being one of the most popular shows on streaming services to this very day, the cast of the show is still making millions of dollars.
"The show's success still pays dividends for the cast. In 2015, USA Today reported that Warner Bros. earns $1 billion a year from "Friends." Of that amount, 2% -- or $20 million -- goes to each of the stars every single year," reports Yahoo.
As nice as it is that the cast of Seinfeld made millions, it is hard to see that they lost out on much more.