5 Random Money Facts About ‘Saturday Night Live’
With 20-plus cast members and a rotating guest roster featuring the world’s biggest movie and musical stars, Saturday Night Live has to be the most expensive comedy show in history. Lorne Michaels alone pulls in about $30 million to $40 million per year, justifiable because he also has to deal with Jimmy Fallon on a nightly basis. But what about the other economics of SNL?
Here are five money facts about the ways Saturday Night Live goes ka-ching…
First-Year Cast Members Make Six Figures
Does landing a job on Saturday Night Live put you into the penthouse? Not necessarily. First-year cast members get $7,000 an episode, says Cosmopolitan. Since a typical season has 21 episodes, that works out to a cool $147,000. That ain’t bad, but living near 30 Rock isn’t cheap either. Ask former cast members like David Spade and Dana Carvey, who regularly complain on their podcast that their early salaries barely paid the rent.
Don't Miss
Things get a little better once the rookie year is in the rear-view mirror. Second-year players get an extra thousand dollars per episode, raising that annual salary to $168,000.
Alec Baldwin Didn’t Get Rich Playing Donald Trump
Baldwin was virtually a cast member during Trump’s presidency, appearing 46 times before finally ceding the role to James Austin Johnson in 2020.
One reason Baldwin might have been so happy to give up the job (other than seeing his guy Joe Biden win the election) was that he made virtual peanuts for those appearances. He told the New York Times via Deadline that his paycheck was only $1,400 per show. That’s about 65 grand for four years’ work. Let’s hope Michaels threw in a few bottles of wine.
The Money Starts Getting Good After Year Five
If cast members can get over the hump and make it to a fifth year, the money starts to get real, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Now we’re talking $15,000 an episode or $315,000 per year. But as Punkie Johnson (four seasons) and Molly Kearney (two seasons) just learned, it’s not necessarily easy making it to a fifth go-round on the show.
As Cosmopolitan points out, five years is also around the time that SNL cast members become household names, meaning Pizza Hut commercials for Ego Nwodim or Aidy Bryant dancing around for Old Navy for extra spending cash.
There’s Star Money and Then There’s Kenan Thompson Money
NBC caps SNL salaries at around half a million for the show’s biggest stars. Comics like Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong and Colin Jost all reportedly reached that $525,000 plateau.
That ain’t bad! But it’s not Kenan Thompson money. With more than 20 seasons of salary bumps and renegotiations under his belt, industry estimates put his SNL salary in the $2 million to $3 million range.
The Hosts Don’t Get Paid Much at All
At least according to Justin Timberlake. He told Entertainment Tonight that he got paid $5,000 when he came back to host for the third time. Better than Alec Baldwin money, but not by much.
Of course, when Timothée Chalamet (Wonka) or Emma Stone (Poor Things) come to town, it’s because they have a movie (or album or stand-up tour) to promote. It’s a rare host monologue that doesn’t begin by shamelessly plugging a project — so maybe the hosts should be paying SNL, not the other way around.
