How Much Does the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Winner Get Paid?
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Last night’s Dancing With the Stars finale crowned former Bachelorette Hannah Brown as its Season 28 winner, but the reality star walked away with much more than just the coveted Mirror Ball trophy — she also gets quite the pretty penny for making it all the way to the finish line.
Yes, it’s true, contestants on DWTS get paid, and the longer you last on the show, the more that amount increases. In other words, winning the season offers much more than just a trophy and some bragging rights.
So, how much are these contestants cashing in? Variety revealed that the stars are given a sign-on bonus of $125,000, just for showing up for the initial rehearsals and the first two weeks of filming. Then, based on a pay scale, they get additional payments for each week they last.
Based on a Gawker report from 2010, stars have seen payments of $10,000 for making it beyond Week 2, $20,000 for making it to Week 4, 5, and 6, $30,000 for Week 7 and 8, and another $50,000 for the final two episodes. No wonder the stars always appear desperate to stay another week. Cha-ching!
And based on these reports, Hannah won’t take home a bigger paycheck than the other finalists, Kel Mitchell, Ally Brooke, and Lauren Alaina, as the pay scale is based on weeks spent on the show, not who ends up victorious. This makes sense because all four stars have put in an equal number of hours.
But according to sources, there is a cap on how much money a star can take home. For Season 28, that maximum amount was reportedly $295,000, though it’s been much higher (upwards of $345,000) in previous seasons.
Now with the big win under her belt, the 25-year-old appears to be on cloud nine. After the exciting moment, she took to her Instagram page to share the news with a series of photos alongside her pro partner, Alan Bersten. “WE DID IT! Thank you all so much,” she wrote.
Congrats to Hannah and Alan on their victory — and to all of the finalists, too, as we know they’ll be headed to the bank.
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