Dancing With the Stars has come a long way since it first premiered in 2005. Over the years, dozens of professional dancers have worked on the show, with many sticking around for several seasons to help train new celebrity partners.
But is it a lucrative career for these dedicated athletes? Longtime pro Jenna Johnson confirmed on June 2 that the professionals are paid for their work on the show, although she didn’t share salary specifics.
Johnson clarified that pros aren’t paid extra money for winning, but explained on The Morning After podcast, “Whoever makes it to the finale, you all get paid up until then. And you do get a nice bonus.” Generally, three or four pros and their celebrity partners make it all the way to the finale episode.
She also said that being eliminated in the first week doesn’t mean payments immediately stop. “You’re guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks,” Johnson shared. “I think there’s different contracts, so I can’t speak for everybody. But, if you make it all the way to the end, you’re getting paid the whole season, which is amazing. And you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale. If you win, it’s not like you win a million dollars and split it with your partner. You’re just getting a cute trophy together.”
Parade previously reported that pros are paid $1,600 per episode for their beginning seasons on the show, while Us Weekly reported the number was $1,200 per episode. However, as the dancers become veterans, they’re reportedly able to negotiate for higher salaries, especially if they become popular among viewers.
Once pros have been on the show for a while, their salaries can increase to around $5,000 per episode, according to Parade and Us Weekly. Parade reported that the salary cap is $100,000, but ABC has never commented on the salaries of the pros or contestants.
Exposure from the show has afforded many of the pros other opportunities for brand deals and social media partnerships, so even if they’re not breaking the bank with their salaries from DWTS, it’s definitely an important jumping-off point.