Longtime game show fixture Vanna White has negotiated a raise for her role on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, a new report has revealed – but her pay for the regular show remains up in the air.
Currently in talks to stay on the show amid Pat Sajak’s fast-approaching exit at the end of the season, the Wheel of Fortune vixen reportedly reached the deal through her attorney, whose previous clients include Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly.
That said, the agreement reportedly only pertains to Celebrity Wheel of Fortune – a 13-episode spinoff started last year played by 27 celebrities.
According to TMZ – the first to report on the agreement – the deal is worth $100,000 per episode, well short of the projected $400,000 76-year-old Sajak is said to have taken home during the show’s inaugural season.
While a win for White – who reportedly has not received a raise in 18 years – talks remain stalled as to her payment for the actual show, which she helped put on the map back in 1982. Currently, she takes home $3million – a fifth of what Sajak makes.
Longtime game show fixture Vanna White has negotiated a raise for her role on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune after partner Pat Sajak’s retirement announcement, a new report has revealed – however, her pay for the regular show remains up in the air
Currently in talks to stay on the show amid Pat Sajak’s fast-approaching exit at the end of the season, the Wheel of Fortune vixen reportedly reached the deal through her attorney, and is now set to rake in $100,000 an episode for the second season of the game show spinoff
As DailyMail.com already reported, White is asking for 50 percent of the longtime host’s $15million salary – and likely had been asking for half of his weekly $400,000 Celebrity Wheel of Fortune paycheck as well.
Following heated talks between showrunners and White’s lawyer Bryan Friedman, she reportedly settled on the aforementioned $100,000 per episode – which source said was a ‘meaningful bump’ from her previous contract.
Despite that being resolved, pay talks concerning White’s long-held role on the true game show are still up in the air, sources told TMZ.
Sajak, meanwhile, is set to depart the end of the upcoming season, with his already tapped successor, Ryan Seacrest, set to make a cool $28million per year.
White – who stepped up as replacement presenter for the first time after decades of board duty in 2019 – now feels slighted as a result, insiders told DailyMail.com earlier in the month, and is seeking increased compensation.
Having enlisted Freedman to do so, she has still yet to make any headway, sources said – with negotiations now halted because of the writers’ strike.
Sajak, meanwhile, announced he was retiring after nearly a half-century on the show in June – as parties still remain far from agreeing on anything meaningful, insiders have told DailyMail.com.
Speaking to TMZ Thursday, others familiar with the matter revealed that the show’s studio, Sony, also sH๏τ down the idea to have a third party evaluate the importance of Sajak and White’s roles on the show, so that they may come up with a ‘fair figure.’
As for why, sources told the outlet the studio believes Sajak had been getting paid too much by the end of his 48-year career – making the $15million marker meaningless to the ongoing talks, TMZ reported.
White was 25 years old when she began as the co-host opposite Sajak, now 76 – who announced his retirement in June
Sajak, meanwhile, is set to depart the end of the upcoming season, with his already tapped successor, Ryan Seacrest, set to make a cool $28million per year
White – who stepped up as replacement presenter for the first time after decades of board duty in 2019 – now feels slighted as a result, insiders told DailyMail.com earlier in the month
Seacrest, 48, will stay on the ABC show until the Spring. He will be replaced by Ripa’s actor husband, Mark Consuelos
Meanwhile, days after Sajak took to Twitter on June 12 to reveal his show decision to retire at the end of the show’s upcoming season, showrunners were willing to shell out $28million to secure Seacreast as a quick replacement.
The former American Idol fixture – who left his post as host of Live with Kelly and Ryan alongside Kelly Ripa in April – announced he would be taking a spin as Wheel host in a tweet, saying he was ‘humbled’ by the studio’s offer.
White, meanwhile, was markedly less impressed by the maneuver, with an insider telling DailyMail.com Seacrest was chosen as the show’s successor before they offered her a chance to take on the role.
She now believes bosses think she is ‘replaceable’ and have a ‘lack of respect for her’, insiders told DailyMail.com exclusively some two weeks ago, adding how White was ‘disappointed’ they made a decision about Seacrest, 48, so quickly.
On Thursday, sources close to star warned that things are going to ‘get ugly’ if Sony doesn’t ‘get more serious’ about keeping her on.
Meanwhile, her lawyer Freedman, who specialized in resolving conflicts between talents and the networks that employ them, is still fighting for increased compensation for White.
His past clients include Carlson – who was fired from Fox News in April – fellow ex Fox presenter Kelly, Gabrielle Union, Chris Harrison, and more.
As for “Jeopardy!”, the show currently in the midst of its 39th season, and is scheduled to wrap up at the end of the month on July 28, 2023.
A date for the upcoming season has yet to be set.
