Pete Davidson revealed his first paycheck from Saturday Night Live was much lower than most assume.
When asked what his biggest splurge was during his first season on NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show back in 2014, the comedian, 31, laughed at the idea of purchasing something ostentatious on his previous budget.
‘Do you guys know what they pay us? It’s like three grand an episode, so I think I got dinner!’ he told New York Magazine.
Based on Davidson’s claim that would mean a cast member, making the same as he, would earn between $54,000 to $66,000 per year for appearing in 18 to 22 episodes of SNL.
Jason Sudeikis echoed a similar sentiment as Davidson when it came to spending on a tighter salary.
‘I mean you don’t really make enough money to make big purchases,’ he explained. ‘So, I think New York rent was probably the biggest purchase I made after writing on SNL the first year.’
Pete Davidson revealed his first paycheck from Saturday Night Live was much lower than most assume; seen in 2023
In response to the same question, current star James Austin Johnson revealed he used his first SNL paycheck to buy ‘the most uncomfortable West Elm couch of all time.’
‘I swear to God,’ he stressed. ‘It’s, like, made of bricks.’
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985, admitted to having a bit more fun with her first purchase.
‘[I] bought a pair of shoes that were out of [her] budget,’ she confessed, before noting that the shoes were only $75.
Sarah Silverman took home a nice $300 ‘cashmere sweater’ with her paycheck while Sarah Sherman invested in ‘a nice mattress.’
Cheri Oteri went with a practical purchase, a couch, which she’s has ‘reupholstered three or four times.’
Just like Johnson and Oteri, Seth Meyers also invested in a ‘really big couch’ as well as a ‘really big TV.’
Bowen Yang, whose rumored salary for Wicked was $250,000, took home a designer pair of shoes with his first paycheck.
When asked what his biggest splurge was after wrapping his first season on NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show back in 2014, the 31-year-old comedian laughed at the idea of purchasing something ostentatious on his previous budget
‘Do you guys know what they pay us? It’s like three grand an episode, so I think I got dinner!’ he told New York Magazine (seen in 2018)
Yang admitted that he went straight to Saks Fifth Avenue to buy ‘a pair of Gucci shoes’ that he ‘wouldn’t feel super cool wearing out now.’
It is unknown if the current salary for first-year cast members has stayed the same or increased.
Davidson was on SNL for eight seasons.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, newcomers now make more than double Davidson’s reported price with $7,000 per episode, totaling $147,000 for a 21-episode season.
Based on Davidson’s claim that would mean a cast member, making the same as he, would earn between $54,000 to $66,000 per year for appearing in 18 to 22 episodes of SNL; seen in 2023
The site also reports that second-year cast members ‘get a $1,000 per episode raise.’
Meanwhile, the salary for fifth-year cast members shoots up to $15,000 per episode, about $315,000 for a 21-episode season.
NBC, however, reportedly draws the line at paying cast members $25,000 per episode (or $525,000 per year based on a 21-episode season).
Still, Kenan Thompson, who has been on the show since 2003, is rumored to be one of the exceptions as Celebrity Net Worth estimates his salary to be between $2 and $3 million per year.
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