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Last month, we learned that Lisa Kudrow earns $20 million a year from Friends residuals.
And it turns out she’s not the only sitcom star who’s still raking in five figures from work she did decades ago.
According to new reports from various outlets, Ray Romano is earning an eye-popping $18 million per year in residuals from Everybody Loves Raymond residuals, more than twenty years after the series wrapped its final episode.
Romano continues to rake in tens of millions annually thanks to syndication and streaming for Raymond, which ended its original run back in 2005 but remains widely available on platforms such as Paramount+ and Peacock.
Not a bad deal if you can get it!
Raymond premiered in 1996 and quickly became one of television’s defining family sitcoms.
The series starred Romano as Ray Barone, a sportswriter navigating suburban life on Long Island while constantly clashing with his overbearing family.
Over the course of nine seasons, the show became a massive ratings success, ultimately earning 15 Emmy wins out of 69 nominations before coming to an end in 2005.
And the titular star was compensated accordingly.
By the show’s ninth and final season, Romano was reportedly earning nearly $2 million per episode, cementing his status as one of television’s highest-paid actors at the time.
As of 2026, Romano’s net worth reportedly sits around $200 million.
While he later appeared in projects such as the Ice Age franchise and NBC’s Parenthood, much of his long-term wealth appears to stem from one very lucrative source: those juicy Raymond royalty checks.
Of course, Romano’s enormous salary once sparked major behind-the-scenes tension on set.
Back in 2003, reports surfaced that Romano was earning approximately $1.8 million per week under a reported $40 million contract during the sitcom’s eighth season.
That revelation reportedly did not sit well with co-star Brad Garrett, who played Ray’s older brother, Robert Barone.
According to TV Insider, Garrett pushed for a salary increase after learning not only how much Romano was making, but also that Romano’s contract included royalties from reruns of older episodes.
At the time, Garrett was said to be earning roughly $160,000 per episode.
According to insiders, Garrett refused to return to work until CBS renegotiated his deal. His character was temporarily removed from the season premiere and allegedly faced the possibility of being written out entirely.
Co-stars Patricia Heaton, Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle reportedly backed Garrett during the standoff, even calling in sick in solidarity.
“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,” Garrett’s representative said at the time.
Ultimately, CBS negotiated with the cast, and Garrett reportedly saw his pay increase to $250,000 per episode for Season 8 and $315,000 per episode for Season 9.
As for Romano? He didn’t seem to harbor any resentment.
“When my salary came out in the papers, I knew stuff would happen,” Romano said at the time. “I’d do exactly the same thing.”
Despite the massive paychecks, Ray says he has no interest in a revival series and intends to “leave our legacy the way it is.” We guess you can afford to feel that way when you’re raking in $20 million annually!
