Pete Davidson reveals how much Saturday Night Live cast members really get paid

Host Pete Davidson during a Saturday Night Live monologue on October 14, 2023. Photo / Getty Images

Former Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson has revealed how much he got paid per episode on the iconic late-night show - and it might be less than you’d expect.

Davidson, 31, and fellow stars of the sketch comedy showcase recently featured in a social media video for New York magazine in which each were asked about their “biggest splurge” after receiving their first pay cheque.

Davidson, who starred on the variety show for eight seasons between 2014 and 2022, responded: “Do you guys know what they pay us? It’s, like, three grand an episode.

“I think I got dinner,” he added jokingly.

At the time of writing, US$3000 is equivalent to about NZ$5100.

Saturday Night Live, known colloquially as SNL, is currently in its 50th season, which premiered on September 28, 2024. With a few exceptions, there are typically between 18 and 22 episodes a season: if Davidson’s claim is accurate, that means he would have earned between US$54,000 (NZ$91,760) and US$66,000 (NZ$112,150) a year if he starred in every episode (not accounting for additional income streams).

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Other cast members focused their funds on big-ticket items, with James Austin Johnson revealing in the video he used his first pay cheque to buy a West Elm Couch (that feels as though it’s “made of bricks”).

Seinfeld actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who was a regular cast member on SNL from 1982 to 1985, admitted she “bought a pair of shoes that were out of [her] budget” at US$75 (currently NZ$128). Current cast member Bowen Yang also splurged on footwear, revealing in the clip he bought a “pair of Gucci shoes” from Saks Fifth Ave.

Stand-up comedian and actress Sarah Silverman, who was on the 1993-1994 season, said she bought a US$300 (NZ$510) “cashmere sweater”, while current cast member Sarah Sherman opted for “a nice mattress”.

Cheri Oteri, who had a five-year tenure on the show from 1995 to 2000, also purchased a couch - and said she still has it to this day.

“I have gotten it reupholstered three or four times,” she said in the video. “I remember a designer coming over [and saying] ... ‘We’re gonna get rid of that couch'. I said, ‘Oh, no. No, you’re not. Not today, Satan. The couch is staying. You’re going'.”

Comedian and actor Seth Meyers, who featured on SNL from 2001 to 2014 and now hosts the eponymous talk-show Late Night with Seth Meyers, recalled buying “a really big couch” and “a really big TV”.

Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis, who was initially hired as a writer before spending nine seasons as a cast member from 2005 to 2013, agreed with Davidson.

“I mean, you don’t make enough money to make big purchases,” he said, adding any money he made as a writer was used for “New York rent”.

Rachel Dratch, who starred from 1999 to 2006, also agreed, declaring her first pay cheque was put towards a “New York apartment”.

Davidson has long made headlines for his string of high-profile relationships, including romances with Kim Kardashian, Kate Beckinsale, Kaia Gerber and Ariana Grande (to whom he was briefly engaged in 2018).

Last year, it was revealed Davidson was dating Outer Banks actress Madelyn Cline: the two reportedly split in July this year.