Ray Romano, best known for his role in the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, set a Guinness World Record in 2005 when he was paid $1.94 million per episode for the show's ninth and final season. Two decades after the series finale, Romano remains one of a select group of actors earning millions in residuals, long after their shows ceased production.
Residual Income from Syndication and Streaming
According to reports from Forbes and Vanity Fair, Romano reportedly earns $18 million annually in syndication residuals. This income stems from the show's continued popularity on streaming platforms such as Paramount+ and Peacock. Fans have remarked that Romano 'never has to work again' due to this substantial passive income.
Romano, now 68, played the sarcastic sports writer Raymond Barone from 1996 to 2005 in the series created by Phil Rosenthal. His estimated net worth stands at $200 million, largely derived from residuals and backend profits.
Landmark Contract Dispute
The eighth season of Everybody Loves Raymond, which began airing in 2003, became notable for a cast contract dispute led by Brad Garrett, who played Robert Barone. Romano had become the highest-paid television star at the time with a $40 million deal for the season, equating to $1.8 million per week.
Romano's contract renewal also included royalties from syndicated reruns of older episodes, which frustrated Garrett, who earned around $160,000 per episode in comparison. Garrett refused to work unless CBS renegotiated his contract, leading to his character being cut from the first episode and threatened with permanent removal. His co-stars Patricia Heaton, Doris Roberts, and Peter Boyle supported him by calling in sick.
Garrett's representative stated at the time: 'Ray deserves every penny, all Brad wants is compensation commensurate with what other similarly situated actors have made in the past and are making today.' This forced CBS to renegotiate, raising Garrett's pay to $250,000 per episode, and later $315,000 per week for the final season. The new contracts included syndication deals, granting all stars except Romano 0.5% ownership of the show, with Romano and producers sacrificing portions of their backend profits.
Romano described the dispute as 'inevitable', saying: 'When my salary came out in the papers, I knew stuff would happen. I'd do exactly the same thing.'
Comparison with Other TV Greats
Romano's reported residual earnings place him among television legends. Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay on Friends, recently revealed that the cast still earns around $20 million annually in residuals, 22 years after the show's finale. The Friends cast famously negotiated their salaries together, rising from $22,500 per episode in the first season to $1 million each by the final two seasons. They reunited for a special in 2021, reportedly earning $2.5 million each.
In contrast, Eve Plumb, who played Jan Brady on The Brady Bunch, noted in her memoir that the cast does not receive residuals due to contract terms before 1973. She humorously remarked that if she had a dime for every rerun, she could pay off the national deficit, but clarified that they do not earn residuals from the show's enduring popularity.
