A look at how much Sam Burgess and others are earning on SAS Australia

The stars deserve to be paid for undergoing gruelling physical tests on SAS Australia - but exactly how much are they banking and who is getting the most?

It is the elephant in the room for reality TV stars, particularly when it comes to celebrities giving the genre a go – who earns what?

Top tier talent don’t want to divulge their earnings for fear of coming off cocky and drawing unwanted attention, while some of the ones taking home the smallest pay packets want to look like they are big players and therefore often inflate their earnings.

Sam Burgess is the highest paid celebrity contestant on SAS Australia with a total take home of between $150,000 and $200,000. He scores the big bucks because he has been the most controversial and will, in the eyes of casting managers and producers, generate more noise for the show. The more noise, the hope is that will translate to ratings.

Former NRL star Sam Burgess is the highest paid person on SAS Australia.

Ex-tennis player Mark Philippoussis is also eaning some decent coin. .Picture: Jeremy Grieve

With most celebrity-based reality shows, contestants earn a sign-up fee plus a bonus for each stage of the competition they make it through. For SAS Australia, there is a sign-up fee that differs from celebrity to celebrity based on who brokers the deal for them and how hard they bargain, as well as a daily fee of around $2500, and a bonus of between $1000 and $5000 every three days.

SAS Australia is shot over 14 days with a 13-episode run, plus a reunion episode.