FRIENDS — Pictured: (clockwise from left) Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Matt Le Blank as Joey Tribbiani, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller — Photo by: David Bjerke/NBCU Photo Bank
The six main cast members of "Friends" made $2.5 million EACH to appear on the HBO Max reunion special. Which is NOTHING compared to what they made over the course of the show.
But it's A LOT more than they made for the entire first season.
When they started out, they were making $22,500 per episode. There were 24 episodes, meaning their Season 1 salaries were $540,000 each. Which is HILARIOUS, given that they ended up making $1 million per episode.
But not right away. In Season 2, they were making between $22,500 and $40,000 each . . . but not everyone was being paid the same. David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston were making the most.
Then they started negotiating as a TEAM, and from then on, the six of them were always paid equally. Their pay steadily increased until they reached the $1 million mark in Seasons 9 and 10.
And they STILL get about $20 million a year from syndication. EACH.
