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Pete Davidson kick-started his career withSaturday Night LiveorSNL. He got his big break when he landed a job as a featured player in the popular sketch comedy show. Davidson worked for eight seasons between 2014 and 2022, starting with season 40 which premiered in 2014. During his first season, Davidson starred in 20 out of 21 episodes.
Because of his career graph inSNL, Davidson got to work on many big projects in Hollywood, including the Netflix rom-comSet It Up, a cameo inSuicide Squad,Big Time Adolescence,The King of Staten Island, and more. He made his exit fromSNLafter season 47 in 2022 but was featured as a host in season 49 and had a special appearance in season 50.
But do you know how much he was paid for his contribution to the sketch comedy show? In this article, we will take a look at that and discuss his then salary details.
How much did Pete Davidson earn from his SNL gig?
Pete Davidsonwas one of the youngest-ever hires of the show, he was only 20 when he began his career inSNL. He was popularly known for playing the character Chad in various sketches. In addition to that, Davidson also appeared in several ‘Weekend Update’ segments. Even though he achieved popularity because ofSaturday Night Live, according to him, his salary was peanut-sized.
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In an Instagram video for New York magazine, as a part of theirlatest issuefeaturing past and present cast members, Davidson revealed how much he earned after he joinedSNL. He said,
My biggest indulgence after my first ‘SNL’ paycheck? Do you guys know what they pay us? It’s like three grand an episode.
Well, Pete Davidson appeared in 20 episodes in his first season which makes his estimated salary for that season around $60,000.
What did Pete Davidson do with his first paycheck?
When asked what he did with his first paycheck from SNL, Pete Davidson said,“I think I got dinner.”Not only Davidson,Jason Sudeikis, who was a writer and then became a main cast member ofSNL, shared a similar experience. He explained,
I mean, you don’t make enough money to make big purchases, so I think New York rent was probably the biggest purchase I made after writing my first year on ‘SNL.’
The video included other cast members like James Austin Johnson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sarah Silverman, Sarah Sherman, Cheri Oteri, Seth Meyers, Bowen Yang, and Rachel Dratch. Louis-Dreyfus shared,“I bought a pair of shoes that were out of my budget,”and that was $75.
A post shared by New York Magazine (@nymag)
However, after Pete Davidson’s comment surfaced all over the media, Kenan Thompson toldVarietyat the American Museum of Natural History,“It’s pretty notorious that it’s more so about having the job than getting paid for the job.”He continued,
You gotta pay your dues a little bit, yeah.
Kenan Thompson declined to give any specific amount of the SNL cast members during his conversation with Variety.
Other works of Pete Davidson and his earnings
In addition to his work shelf in SNL, Davidson released three comedy specials –Pete Davidson: SMD,Pete Davidson: Alive From New York, andPete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli. The comedian made a good amount of money from featuring in the Peacock seriesBupkis.Reportedly, he was paid $500,000 per episode. However, the show was canceled after a season.
One of the costliest purchases of Davidson has to be theStaten Island ferryfor $280,100 which he bought along withColin Jost, anotherSNLstar. As per the comedian and actor, they bought while being“very stoned”.
Internet’s reaction to Pete Davidson’s revelations
NBC’s skit showSaturday Night LiveorSNLairs one season per year and each season consists of 16 to 20 episodes. If Davidson’s claims are true, then it means every cast member earns around $54,000 and $66,000 per season. However, we don’t have any confirmation on it from the studios yet.
But this new revelation about the cast members’ salaries left the SNL fans divided. While one part of them thinks this is valid, the other half believes it is extremely dubious to survive in New York City. On the Instagram video, one of the fans wrote,“I mean. 3k a week is a lot.”
While another user commented,“It’s about 60k a year — not sure if he’s talking before or after taxes. In NYC, that’s peanuts unfortunately.”
Another fan suggested,“I think he’s joking. There’s a cosmo article that talks about SNL salaries. First year cast members get paid $7k an episode.”
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All that being said, SNL is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a primetime live special on July 31, 2025. It streams on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET and streams on Peacock.
Ankita Mukherjee
Articles Published :61
Ankita Mukherjee is a movie buff and a K-drama lover. After being in the entertainment genre for more than 3 years, her knack for digging up breaking news and writing featurish articles about her favorite celebs have become her most preferred job and now she is working as an author in FandomWire. But, when it comes to MCU, you might find her go a little nuts.
