Former SNL star Pete Davidson reveals how much cast is really paid

Former Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson has shared the unexpected amount cast members make per episode.

Pete Davidson divulged how much Saturday Night Live cast members are paid — and it’s less than you’d think.

In a recent video roundup for New York magazine, the comedian, 31, and his co-stars — past and present — were each asked, “What was your biggest splurge after your first SNL paycheck?”

Davidson, who was featured first in the Instagram Reel, responded by repeating the question and then revealing, “Do you guys know what they pay us? It’s, like, three grand an episode.”

He went on to quip, “I think I got dinner”, reports Page Six.

The NBC sketch comedy show — which is currently on its 50th season — airs one season per fiscal year, and each season is typically between 18 and 22 episodes long.

By Davidson’s claim, that means a cast member who appears in every episode in a season earns between $54,000 (A$83,800) and $66,000 (A$102,400) per year.

Pete Davidson opened up about his SNL pay.

Reps for the network did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

Meanwhile, current star James Austin Johnson said he used his first SNL paycheck to purchase “the most uncomfortable West Elm couch of all time.”

“I swear to God,” he emphasised, “it’s, like, made of bricks.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, for her part, explained she “bought a pair of shoes that were out of [her] budget.”

The Seinfeld star, who was on the sketch comedy show from 1982 to 1985, admitted the shoes cost $75.

Sarah Silverman bought a $300 (A$465) “cashmere sweater,” and Sarah Sherman bought “a nice mattress.”

Like Johnson, Cheri Oteri also splurged on a couch.

“I have gotten it reupholstered three or four times,” she confessed. “I remember a designer coming over in tears, and he goes, ‘OK, those arms are too high. 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.’”

Bowen Yang and Colin Jost on SNL.

Seth Meyers was also a sensible spender, as he used his first check to buy — you guessed it — “a really big couch.”

The late-night talk show host then went to Best Buy and got himself “a really big TV” to match.

As for Bowen Yang, he recalled walking to the Saks Fifth Avenue “across the street” from the New York City studio and “buying a pair of Gucci shoes — the kind that everyone got and the kind that [he] wouldn’t feel super cool wearing out now.”

Rachel Dratch remembers “getting an apartment,” noting, “I mean, that’s so boring, but that’s the real thing.”

Jason Sudeikis echoed Davidson’s sentiments, telling the magazine, “I mean, you don’t make enough money to make big purchases.”

The Ted Lasso star then echoed Dratch’s comments by saying the money he made his first year of writing for SNL went toward “New York rent.”

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Former SNL star Pete Davidson reveals how much cast is really paid