Vanna White looking for Pat Sajak's salary to stay on with 'Wheel of Fortune'
'She’s a really, really sweet person. She deserves so much more'
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Vanna White is eyeing a Wheel of Fortune deal that will earn her the “same pay — if not more” than Pat Sajak’s, according to a new report published by PEOPLE.
TMZ claimed this week that White was looking to make 50% of what Sajak earns for Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, but a source tells PEOPLE that the famed letter turner is looking to take home more for the syndicated version of the program.
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Vanna White looking for Pat Sajak's salary to stay on with 'Wheel of Fortune' Back to video
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“Fifty per cent of Pat’s salary is so outrageous that no one in their right mind could say that it’s fair,” says the source. “The negotiation is asking for much more than 50% of his salary. It’s asking for the same pay — if not more.”
TMZ’s insider says that White settled for $100,000 an episode for Celebrity Wheel (Sajak pockets just over $400,000).
White has been revealing letters on the game show since 1982 and the 66-year-old has made $3 million a year for the past 18 years without any pay increases.
In 2016, Forbes reported that Sajak earned $15 million a year for his nightly appearances.
“She’s a really, really sweet person. She deserves so much more,” PEOPLE’s source says.
Puck recently claimed that White had hired attorney Bryan Freedman to negotiate on her behalf. The lawyer was said to be apparently “hitting the pay discrepancy issue hard with Sony, as well as possible gender discrimination with respect to White’s salary.”
A source close to the situation tells TMZ that producers think Sajak makes too much and don’t want to use his salary for comparison.
But they say, “It’s gonna get ugly if they don’t get more serious” with their offers to White.
Last month, Sajak shocked Wheel fans when he announced that he would be walking away from the show next year.
“Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last,” the television personality shared on %7B%22provider_name%22:%22Twitter%22,%22provider_url%22:%22https:%5C/%5C/twitter.com%22,%22object_url%22:%22https:%5C/%5C/twitter.com%5C/TheVannaWhite%5C/status%5C/1668644683667628032%22,%22html%22:%22 Seacrest also praised White in his statement, writing, “I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.” PEOPLE’s insider claims that White never asked for a raise over the years because she was fearful that she could lose her job, but that is no longer the case. “Vanna was told, ‘If you fight this, you will lose your job. You’re lucky to have the job.’ And when people tell you that for so long, you believe it,'” says the source. Sajak has hosted the game show since 1981, taking over from Chuck Woolery, who was the program’s first host when Wheel debuted in 1975. He also fronted a short-lived late night show —The Pat Sajak Show — from 1989 to 1990. White joined Wheel in 1982 after original letter turner Susan Stafford left the show, but Sajak wasn’t originally sold on her as his co-host as she competed against two other finalists. “Vanna knows this,” Sajak told CBS News in 2020. “Not that she wasn’t lovely and wonderful and personable and all that. But she was the most nervous, by far, of any of them.” Despite Sajak’s hints that the end was on the horizon in recent interviews, White said last year that retirement wasn’t on her mind. “I don’t want to think about that,” White said in an interview with PEOPLE. “I mean, we’re a team. That’s depressing. I don’t even want to think about it.” Looking ahead, she found it hard to envision a time when the pair wouldn’t be a part of the series. “I just visualize us just being there. I can’t think beyond that,” she said. “I can’t imagine. Everybody relates Wheel of Fortune to Pat and Vanna. We’re like Ken and Barbie, you know?” she explained. “We’ve been in everybody’s homes for 40 years, so it would be weird having somebody else turn my letters.” Twitter:@markhdaniell
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