While many assume that 'SNL' cast members rake in massive salaries, Pete Davidson has claimed 'Saturday Night Live' stars get paid just $3,000 for each episode.
In a video roundup for New York Magazine, Davidson, along with several current “SNL” stars and alumni, shared their “biggest indulgence” after receiving their first paycheck from the NBC sketch comedy series.
“Do you guys know what they pay us?” said Davidson, who spent eight seasons as an “SNL” cast member from 2014 to 2022. “It’s like three grand an episode. I think I got dinner.”
Davidson boasts an impressive estimated net worth of $8 million; however, he has shared that the majority of his wealth did not stem from his appearances on 'SNL'.
"Saturday Night Live" airs one season each financial year, with each season typically consisting of 18 to 22 episodes. Based on Pete's statement regarding the salaries of the show’s cast members, it suggests that a cast member who appears in every episode during a season would earn between $54,000 and $66,000 annually.
Jason Sudeikis shared a similar sentiment about his “SNL” salary, saying, “I mean, you don’t make enough money to make big purchases, so I think New York rent was probably the biggest purchase I made after writing my first year on ‘SNL.'” He was hired as a writer in 2003 and later worked as a cast member for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013.
Other former and current "SNL" cast members featured in the video include James Austin Johnson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sarah Silverman, Sarah Sherman, Cheri Oteri, Seth Meyers, Bowen Yang, and Rachel Dratch.
“I bought a pair of shoes that were out of my budget,” Louis-Dreyfus revealed. “I’m going to tell you, they were $75.”
Yang also indulged in a pair of shoes, saying in the video, “Going to Saks across the street, buying a pair of Gucci shoes. The kind that everyone got, and the kind I wouldn’t feel super cool wearing out now.”
Some said they used their first paycheck to buy furniture, including Johnson, Meyers and Oteri.
“A couch. I have gotten it reupholstered three or four times,” Oteri replied. “I remember a designer coming over in tears, and he goes, ‘OK, those arms are too high. We have to get … We’re going to get rid of that couch.’ I said, ‘Oh no. No, you’re not. Not today, Satan. No, the couch is staying. You’re going.’”