‘Dancing With the Stars’ Competing Celebrities Score Huge Payday, Even if They’re Eliminated After Week One
Hundreds of celebrities have competed in 30 seasons of Dancing with the Stars for personal and professional reasons. However, one of the biggest draws is the money they earn for signing, even if eliminated in week one. These famous faces can earn a six-figure salary just for a few weeks of rehearsal time and one to two air shows. Here’s how it all breaks down.
‘Dancing with the Stars’ is the place stars can advance their careers or seek redemption for past misdeeds
Each season, celebrity dancers of varying degrees of infamy seek redemption in the family-friendly competition series.
In a 2011 interview with the East Valley Tribune, DWTS executive producer Conrad Green said this about celebs who compete in the series.
“The strange thing is a lot of people have been on the show who do come from a more slightly edgy background or who have got a reputation possibly for being edgier. When they get on the show, they tend to be likable,” says executive producer Conrad Green.
“There’s something about the rosy glow of Dancing With the Stars. It’s hard (to resist) even if you’re a bad boy; you start wearing sequins and playing the game.”
The show debuted in 2005 and has a history of extending the spotlight and second chances to celebrities with checkered pasts. These include Tatum O’Neal, Kim Kardashian, Jerry Springer, Carole Baskin, Wendy Williams, Kate Gosselin, Steve-O, Pamela Anderson, and Andy Dick, to name a few.
How much do celebrities make when they sign to appear on ‘Dancing with the Stars?’
I can’t wait to take the leap to #DisneyPlus with #DWTS! The new season is streaming LIVE on September 19, only on @DisneyPlus ✨ @officialdwts pic.twitter.com/JFLZJBouia
— Alfonso Ribeiro (@alfonso_ribeiro) August 11, 2022
In 2019, Variety reported the base salary for all DWTS competing celebrities was $125K.
Celebrity contestants on the Disney+ series reportedly make $125,000 for the show’s rehearsal period and their first two weeks on the air. This time includes upwards of 20 hours a week dedicated to rehearsal time.
Subsequently, if a celebrity makes it past week three of the competition, they earn additional money.
Us Weekly wrote the payscale in 2010 was $10,000 per episode for weeks three and four, $20,000 per episode for weeks five and six, $30,000 per episode for weeks seven and eight, and $50,000 per episode for the final two weeks.
Variety reported in 2020 that the most a contestant can make are reportedly $295,000.
Surprisingly, the winner earns the same as their fellow finalists, except they take home a mirrorball trophy.
Some mirrorball winners have parlayed their DWTS success into other careers.
Brooke Burke won her season and then became its co-host. Erin Andrews, who competed in season 10, made such a strong impression that she replaced Burke as co-host beginning in season 18. Stacy Keiblerparlayed her second-place finish in season 2 into a career as a television host.
And let’s not forget Alfonso Ribeiro, tapped to host America’s Funniest Home Videos in 2015 on the heels of his season 19 win. Ribeiro is a co-host for season 31 of DWTS alongside Tyra Banks.
In comparison, the series pros earn way less than their celebrity partners
According to multiple reports, the professional dancers are only paid $1,200 during their first seasons on the series.
Their salaries increase per episode and change the longer they are part of the franchise. Returning pros reportedly make closer to $5,000 per episode. However, as their star power rises, there is the possibility for even more money to be earned.
The number of episodes in season 30 was 10.
Pros likely made more money during earlier seasons of the series when it aired two installments per year.
Since season 29, when pro-Sharna Burgess and radio personality Bobby Bones took home a mirrorball, the show has reduced its on-air presence to one season per year.
Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars debuts on Disney+ beginning Sept. 19.
