ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

Jason Alexander’s 'Seinfeld' salary per episode was so high, it almost damaged the economics of TV

Even though the stars didn't get what they felt they deserved, it was still outrageously high.
PUBLISHED DEC 28, 2024
Screenshot showing Jason Alexander in Seinfeld (Image source: YouTube/Seinfeld)
Screenshot showing Jason Alexander in Seinfeld (Image source: YouTube/Seinfeld)

In the history of television, only a handful of shows have gained the level of popularity equaling that of sitcoms such as "Seinfeld" and "F.R.I.E.N.D.S." "Seinfeld" was created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, and considering its success and relevance, it is obvious that the stars of the show made big bucks for their work. In fact cast member Jason Alexander thinks they broke the economics of television at one point. 



 

The show which mostly depicts four New York City friends sitting around, complaining and undermining each other, initially struggled to win over audiences. At first, Seinfeld and David could only convince the executives of NBC to pick the show up for only four episodes in 1989. However, it was soon renewed for another season and went on to become one of the most popular sitcoms in America. The show soon broke into the Top 50 in Nielsen ratings, and by the time it came to a close, "Seinfeld" was a multimillionaire. 

It was so popular that the producers wanted to keep it on air, but co-creator Jerry Seinfeld refused. Appearing on the Howard Stern Show, he revealed that he even turned down $110 million without thinking twice.



 

While Seinfeld has continued to enjoy massive success, his three on-screen best friends deserve equal credit as well. Jason Alexander who played "George Costanza", Julia Louis-Dreyfus who played "Elaine Benes", and Michael Richards who played "Cosmo Kramer", were equally important to the show's success.



 

Outrageous Salaries

Given the show's success, its stars became some of the highest-paid TV personalities, ever. In the final year of the show, 1998, the co-creator and comedian made a whopping $267. While Seinfeld was making bank, the co-actors felt that the show wasn't being as vital to their career. 

In an old interview with Charlie Rose, Alexander revealed that they once tried to negotiate a better deal for themselves looking at how much Seinfeld was making. He said that he and his two co-stars did their own research, and estimated that each episode of the show generated "$14 million" in profit for the network.



 

"We had argued that after five years of being in Seinfeld, there was no upside, in the long run for the three of us to continue doing the show… So we argued that we needed to be cut in on syndication," the actor said. However, the three of them were denied any syndication points which led to them making outrageous salary demands.

"In order for us to feel good about doing this show, I wanna leave the most successful half hour in the history of television knowing that I never have to work again. That is what I require or you can’t have my services," Alexander recalled him saying while at the bargaining table. While the stars each demanded more than a million dollars per episode, they finally settled for $600,000 per episode. While it may seem like they got a lot less than what they asked for, it was still an outrageous salary at the time.



 

Even though the stars did their research and meticulously calculated the number, the actor said he still felt that they "damaged the economics of television". "And I also knew that it was detrimental to television if they made the deal with us… It is outrageous up-front money, outrageous. It is bad for television," he said.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
Carey suffered a similar snafu a few months ago while playing the same game of 'Bullseye'.
10 hours ago
Fans also share some tips that could've helped Bain win the bonus round but it was too late.
11 hours ago
Emily Croke coincidentally got the question related to her great-great aunt, Emily Folger.
12 hours ago
Luckily for the veteran host, no one in the studio caught the mistake on time.
13 hours ago
The executive producer of the show, Michael Davies later apologized for the spoiled show.
14 hours ago
Even the seasoned expert was stumped by the unusual subject of the painting.
15 hours ago
In the end, Mr Wonderful cut off Greiner with a deal that the founder of Wad Free couldn't refuse.
1 day ago
Seacrest got geniunely spooked as he couldn't figure out who played a prank on him.
1 day ago
The seller brought some "Secret Service" memorabilia of former Attorney General J. Howard McGrath.
1 day ago
The guest was already emotional because of the backstory involving native Alaskans.
2 days ago
The player once again fumbled a puzzle despite moving forward in the game.
2 days ago
The host didn't want to get more of the weird answers on the show anymore.
2 days ago
The founder of Beyond Sushi impressed the Sharks with 100% plant based flavors.
2 days ago
The Shark jumped back in to the deal as he thought his wife would love the product.
3 days ago
The guest who bought the item at a charity store had no idea that it was over 3,000 years old.
3 days ago
When the rare coin showed up on Harrison's table, he had to take his old man's approval for the deal.
4 days ago
Fans said that such behavior was unnecessary and slammed the antics as self-congratulatory.
4 days ago
Several customers took to social media to complain about spoilt milk that they purchased from the store.
4 days ago
Despite the massive appraisal, the brothers shared that they would never sell their collection.
4 days ago
Harrison is often impressed by suits belonging to legendary musicians or actors.
4 days ago