Some classic shows continue to live on in TV infamy despite having gone off the air ages ago. But not every show makes as much money with its reruns as 'Seinfeld' has. While cast members from shows like 'The Brady Bunch' and 'Gilligan's Island' claim to have not made a dime in residuals, the actors on other sitcoms were far luckier.
Or, possibly, they simply signed the right offer when it slid across the table before filming began.
How Much Do Reruns Of 'Seinfeld' Make?
A lot of shows continue earning cash flow after they go off the air. 'Friends' is one example -- and from the same era as 'Seinfeld' -- of a show that continued raking in the dough because of its rewatch popularity.
So how successful was 'Seinfeld' in that same progression?
Back in 2010, sources suggested that 'Seinfeld,' which had already been off the air for 12 years, had made billions of dollars since its final episode. But how? Because of a syndication deal that kept reruns of the show on-air.
At the time, the show had made about $2.7 billion even though no new episode had been broadcast since 1998. That's an impressive amount of cash, even if it's split among the various members of the cast and crew.
How Much Did Each Episode Earn?
The billion-dollar earnings are so high that sources say that 'Seinfeld' episodes were the most profitable 30 minutes of TV ever. As of 2010, each episode had earned in excess of $14M.
The singular catch in terms of the rerun earnings? Not everyone is making the same amount of cash. Larry David struck such a lucrative deal even after leaving 'Seinfeld' that fans started wondering whether he'd made more cash from the show than its namesake did.
As it turns out, Larry David's deal was pretty valuable, but Jerry, as the show's primary talent, had numerous other revenue streams going since he appeared in every episode.
Still, both comedians are pretty much rolling in the dough, even though the show ended in 1998. Yahoo! confirms that both Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, because they have an ownership stake in the show, "can each make $400 million per syndication cycle."
Thanks to reruns, 'Seinfeld' probably won't ever fade from the public's consciousness, and its talent won't ever stop earning royalties, either. Even though the cast didn't always enjoy the guest stars they had to work with, the payoff was clearly worth it. Actually, the payoff was worth it even before 'Seinfeld' slid onto streaming service lineups.