Vanna White has been (reportedly) aggressively negotiating her first Wheel of Fortune raise in 18 years, and well, it’s been a process. Following the announcement that longtime host Pat Sajak is leaving the classic game show, White’s future on the show has been a question mark as producers quickly locked down Ryan Seacrest as the new host. According to reports, White’s pay has been significantly lower than Sajak’s, and she’s not having much luck trying to negotiate her way to just half of what he makes.
However, White has made some headway. TMZ reports that she managed to secure a raise for Celebrity Wheel of Fortune. White will now make $100,000 per episode, which is a “meaningful bump.” However, Sajak makes $400,000 an episode, so White clearly didn’t hit her mark of making half of his pay.
As for the main show, White’s quest for a raise isn’t looking so hot. Via TMZ:
Our sources say Friedman asked Sony to use a third party who knows the game show space to evaluate Pat and Vanna’s roles and importance on the show, and then come up with a “fair figure.” We’re told Sony turned thumbs down to that request.
We’re told one of the problems … Sony believes they ended up paying Pat too much and they don’t want to use his salary for comparability. Apparently, that hasn’t sat well with Team Vanna.
Sony is also reportedly dragging its feet because White’s Wheel of Fortune contract still has a year left. But if the studio doesn’t “get more serious,” a TMZ source says the situation is “gonna get ugly.”
(Via TMZ)
