Pat Sajak is officially out at Wheel of Fortune – which means he’ll also be giving up his hefty game show host salary. What is Pat Sajak’s salary on Wheel of Fortune per episode? Keep reading to find out how much he earns versus his co-host, Vanna White.
Wheel of Fortune is ABC’s popular game show that’s been on the air continuously since January 1975. In the hangman-based competition created by Merv Griffin, contestants can spin the giant carnival wheel and call a consonant, buy a vowel for $250 or solve the puzzle. Each contestant is worth the cash value of what the wheel lands on. They can continue spinning the wheel until they miss a letter, spin a bankrupt or lose a turn. The million-dollar grand prize wedge was added to the wheel in 2008, allowing contestants the opportunity to become millionaires. (A few lucky contestants have won $1 million or more).
Since the nighttime version debuted in 1983, Sajak and White have hosted the popular game show for four decades. So what is Pat Sajak’s salary on Wheel of Fortune? He apparently made way more than his cohost White. Read on to see how much he’ll be losing once he exits the successful game show.
What is Pat Sajak’s salary on Wheel of Fortune per episode?
According to a 2016 report from Forbes, Sajak is estimated to earn $15 million per season. For example, Wheel of Fortune Season 40 had 195 episodes, so Sajak could have earned just under $77,000 per episode for the 2023-24 season. In comparison to his co-host Vanna White, she reportedly makes about $3 million annually (not including bonuses), according to Puck.News, which is about five time less than Sajak.
Celebrity Net Worth reports that Wheel of Fortune isn’t even Sajak or White’s main source of income – they make more money “licensing their images to casino slot machines than they do from the game show itself.” In exchange for licensing their images, the hosts earn at least $15 million each per year in royalties, licensing fees and other payments. For Sajak’s overall networth, the Wheel of Fortune host is worth $75 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
As for the host’s real estate properties, he paid $1.8 million in June 1988 for a home in the LA suburb of Encino. In 1992, Pat and his wife Lesly paid $1.2 million for a waterfront home in Severna Park, Maryland, where they constructed a 6,5000 square foot mansion, Celebrity Net Worth found. The site also estimates his net worth as $75 million.
In addition to Wheel of Fortune, Sajak appeared in the 1982 comedy film, Airline II: The Sequel, as a newscaster. When he left the daytime version of Wheel, Sajak briefly had his own late-night talk show on CBS, The Pat Sajak Show, from January 1989 to April 1990. He’s also an External Director of Eagle Publishing and is the author of multiple puzzle games, including 2007’s Lucky Letters.
After the 76-year-old host announced his exit from Wheel, Sajak accepted the role of chairman for the conservative Hillside College in Michigan, WVID Local 4 reported. He previously served as the vice chairman and is also on the board of trustees of the private Christian School. “For decades, Pat Sajak has been an icon of radio and television. There are few things more intimate than appearing in the living rooms of countless Americans every evening,” Emily Slack, Executive Director of Media Relations and Communication for Hillsdale told The Post in a statement in June 2023. “We know that he will be missed and congratulate him on his well-deserved retirement.”
Why is Pat Sajak leaving Wheel of Fortune?
On June 12, 2023, Sajak announced that Season 41 of Wheel of Fortune will officially be his last. “Well, the time has come,” Sajak said in a Twitter statement. “I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all.”
Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)
— Pat Sajak (@patsajak) June 12, 2023
Fans flooded the comments writing that they’ll miss the legendary host. “Noooooo! That’s me selfishly screaming for you to stay! Of course you deserve an amazing retirement. Thank you for being a national treasure, sir!” one person wrote. Another Twitter user added: “Big part of my childhood with my family. Thanks for the many laughs and entertainment.”
Wheel of Fortune officially named a replacement for Sajak on June 27, 2023. Ryan Seacrest will take over hosting duties from Sajak starting in Season 42, which is expected to premiere in the fall of 2024. “I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak. I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them,” the veteran American Idol host wrote in an Instagram statement on June 27, 2023.
Vanna White will be continuing on with Seacrest after Sajak exits. Initially, there was confusion about whether White will leave after Sajak’s retirement. Some reports even suggested that Sony executives were thinking of “eliminating” White’s role altogether if the show got a well-known host who didn’t need the extra publicity. These conversations allegedly occurred during contract negotiations for White to move past the 2023-24 season.
Sajak officially left Wheel of Fortune in his final episode on June 7, 2024. “Well, the time has come to say goodbye,” he said in the episode. “I have a few thanks and acknowledgments before I go, and I want to start with all of you watching out there. It’s been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade.”
He continued, “And I’ve always felt like the privilege came with the responsibility to keep this daily half hour a safe place for family fun. No social issues, no politics, nothing embarrassing I hope, just a game. But gradually it became more than that. A place where kids learned their letters, where people from other countries honed their English skills, where families came together along with friends and neighbors, and entire generations.”
He concluded his speech, “What an honor to play even a small part in all of that. Thank you for allowing me into your lives.”
For more on salaries, check out our gallery below to learn who is the highest-paid judge on America’s Got Talent.