Vanna White, the esteemed game show icon, has recently secured a salary bump for her participation on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, as per a recent report. While negotiations continue for her involvement post-Pat Sajak’s departure, her compensation for the regular Wheel of Fortune remains undecided.
The renegotiated deal specifically covers her role in Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, a spinoff featuring 27 celebrities across 13 episodes.
This amount is notably lower than the reported $400,000 salary earned by Sajak, aged 76, during the show’s debut season.
For White, this arrangement represents a significant raise from her previous contract, as she purportedly went without an increase for 18 years.
However, discussions concerning her remuneration for the original Wheel of Fortune program, which she has helped popularize since its inception in 1982, have encountered an obstacle.
Presently earning $3 million, a fraction of Sajak’s salary, White has requested half of Sajak’s $15 million annual earnings. Negotiations concerning this matter, along with her potential cut of the $400,000 weekly salary for Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, are ongoing.
Despite securing a deal of $100,000 per episode for the spinoff, discussions regarding White’s ongoing involvement in the primary game show remain unresolved.
With Sajak’s retirement scheduled for the end of the upcoming season and Ryan Seacrest poised to assume hosting duties, earning a substantial $28 million annually, White, who sporadically served as host in 2019 after decades on the board, feels marginalized in the situation, according to sources.
In her pursuit of equitable compensation, she has enlisted the assistance of Freedman, though negotiations have temporarily ceased due to an ongoing writers’ strike.
Attempts to evaluate the importance of both Sajak and White’s roles through a third-party mediator were rebuffed by Sony, the studio behind Wheel of Fortune.
It appears the studio believes Sajak’s compensation had already reached an excessive level after his 48-year tenure, rendering the $15 million benchmark irrelevant to ongoing discussions.
While Sajak’s retirement and Seacrest’s swift succession unfolded, White received a lukewarm response, leaving her feeling undervalued and disheartened by the decision-making process.
As negotiations continue, insiders caution that tensions could escalate if Sony fails to acknowledge White’s contributions seriously.
Her attorney Freedman, recognized for resolving conflicts between talents and networks, is steadfastly advocating for increased compensation on her behalf.
Meanwhile, in the domain of “Jeopardy!” – another cherished game show – the series is presently in its 39th season, slated to conclude in July 2023, although a date for the upcoming season has not been announced.