List of Highest paid American television stars - wikipedia List of Highest paid American television stars This is a list of people starring on television that are the highest - paid, based on various sources. This list includes the top - paid TV stars by name and their network primetime salaries per episode, which includes stars from past series like Two and a Half Men and current series like Game of Thrones. It also includes hosts and news presenters with the highest annual salaries, which include Tyra Banks, Maury Povich, Ellen DeGeneres, and some talent from the Today Show and the CBS Evening News. Charlie Sheen Ray Romano Kelsey Grammer Tim Allen Lena Headey Contents 1 Network primetime salaries per episode 2 Network primetime salaries per season 3 Morning annual salaries 4 News presenter annual salaries 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links Network primetime salaries per episode Name Program Role Salary Year Ref. Charlie Sheen Two and a Half Men Charlie Harper $1.8 million 1999 - 2002 Ray Romano Everybody Loves Raymond Raymond Barone $1.7 million 2003 -- 2005 Kelsey Grammer Frasier Frasier Crane $1.6 million 2002 -- 2004 Tim Allen Home Improvement Tim Taylor $1.25 million 1998 -- 1999 Peter Dinklage Game of Thrones Tyrion Lannister £ 2,000,000 2017 -- 2018 Nikolaj Coster - Waldau Jaime Lannister Lena Headey Cersei Lannister Emilia Clarke Daenerys Targaryen Kit Harington Jon Snow Johnny Galecki The Big Bang Theory Leonard Hofstadter $1 million 2014 -- 2017 Jim Parsons Sheldon Cooper Kaley Cuoco Penny James Gandolfini The Sopranos Tony Soprano $1 million 2006 -- 2007 Jennifer Aniston Friends Rachel Green $1 million 2002 -- 2004 Courteney Cox Monica Geller Lisa Kudrow Phoebe Buffay Matt LeBlanc Joey Tribbiani David Schwimmer Ross Geller Matthew Perry Chandler Bing Helen Hunt Mad About You Jamie Buchman $1 million 1998 -- 99 Paul Reiser Paul Buchman Jerry Seinfeld Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld $1 million 1997 -- 1998 Ashton Kutcher Two and a Half Men Walden Schmidt $755,000 Drew Carey The Drew Carey Show Drew Carey $750,000 2001 -- 2004 Lauren Graham Gilmore Girls Lorelai Gilmore $750,000 2016 Alexis Bledel Rory Gilmore Kunal Nayyar The Big Bang Theory Rajesh Koothrapalli $750,000 2014 -- 2017 Simon Helberg Howard Wolowitz David Hyde Pierce Frasier Niles Crane $750,000 Hugh Laurie House Dr. Gregory House $700,000 Andrew Lincoln The Walking Dead Rick Grimes $650,000 2017 -- 2018 Jon Cryer Two and a Half Men Alan Harper $620,000 2013 -- 2015 Julia Louis - Dreyfus Seinfeld Elaine Benes $600,000 1997 -- 1998 Jason Alexander George Costanza Michael Richards Cosmo Kramer Norman Reedus The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon $550,000 2017 -- 2018 Network primetime salaries per season Name Program Role Salary Year Ref. Simon Cowell The X Factor Judge $75 million 2012 -- 13 Katy Perry American Idol $25 million 2017 -- 18 Jennifer Lopez $20 million 2011 -- 12 Mariah Carey $18 million 2012 -- 13 Hugh Laurie House Gregory House $15 million 2013 Ryan Seacrest American Idol Host 2013 -- 16 Britney Spears The X Factor Judge 2012 Miley Cyrus The Voice Coach $13 million 2016 -- 17 Adam Levine 2016 -- 18 Blake Shelton 2016 -- 18 Christina Aguilera $12.5 million 2013 Kelly Clarkson $12 million 2018 Nicki Minaj American Idol Judge 2012 -- 13 Shakira The Voice Coach 2013 Gwen Stefani 2017 Morning annual salaries Name Program Role Salary Year Ref. Judith Sheindlin Judge Judy Judge $47 million 2013 Barbara Walters The View Host $13 million 2007 Bob Barker The Price Is Right Game show host $10 million Ellen DeGeneres The Ellen DeGeneres Show Host $5 million 2007 Jerry Springer The Jerry Springer Show Host $3 -- 4 million 1999 Tyra Banks The Tyra Banks Show Host $3.5 million News presenter annual salaries Name Program Role Salary Year Ref. Matt Lauer Today Anchor $21 million Meredith Vieira Today Anchor $15 million Katie Couric CBS Evening News News anchor $15 million Notes Jump up ^ The ' ' Daily Express gives a £ 2 million figure, though sources differ. This figure possibly includes the percentage the cast makes from reruns and overseas syndications. References ^ Jump up to : `` The Highest Paid TV Actors Of All Time Per Per Episode - UPROXX ''. UPROXX. Jump up ^ `` For $50 Mil, Producers Love Raymond ''. PEOPLE.com. Jump up ^ `` Kelsey Grammer : NBC 's $1.6 Million Man ''. PEOPLE.com. Jump up ^ `` Hollywood 's Salary Report 2017 : Movie Stars to Makeup Artists to Boom Operators ''. The Daily Telegraph. September 28, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Goldberg, Lesley ( November 17, 2016 ). `` Robert De Niro 's Making How Much ? ! TV Is Becoming an ATM for Top Talent ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 15, 2016. Jump up ^ Rice, Lynette ( April 8, 2014 ). `` Big Bang Theory Actors Set to Earn $1 Million an Episode ''. People. Retrieved September 10, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Sopranos actors end pay dispute ''. Retrieved 27 October 2016. Jump up ^ Carter, Bill ( February 12, 2002 ). `` ' Friends ' Deal Will Pay Each Of Its 6 Stars $22 Million ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ Flint, Joe ( April 10, 1998 ). `` Mad Money ''. Entertainment Weekly. Jump up ^ Fahey, Mark ( May 31, 2015 ). `` Seinfeld 's per - line payday ''. CNBC. Jump up ^ `` Salaries of TV 's Top Talent Revealed ''. Retrieved 27 October 2016. Jump up ^ Acuna, Kirsten ( September 25, 2012 ). `` The Highest - Paid Actors On TV This Fall ''. Business Insider. Retrieved September 10, 2014. Jump up ^ Balloni, Matthew ( May 1, 2013 ). `` ' Two and a Half Men ' : Jon Cryer Gets a Raise, Ashton Kutcher Does n't ''. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 11, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Britney Spears signs onto ' X-Factor ' : Highest paid stars on TV ''. New York Daily News. Retrieved July 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Wallenstein, Andrew ( May 30, 2017 ). `` Paying Katy Perry Top Dollar Does n't Make Sense for ' American Idol ' ''. Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Elliott, Hannah ( May 16, 2012 ). `` The Real American Idol : How J. Lo Got Her Mojo Back ''. Forbes. Forbes, Inc. Retrieved July 24, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Maloney, Devon ( July 24, 2012 ). `` Mariah Carey 's $18 Million ' Idol ' Deal : How Does it Measure Up to Stars ' TV Paydays ? ''. Spin. Retrieved July 4, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Maglio, Tony ; Waxman, Sharon ( March 25, 2016 ). `` ' Voice ' Judge Shakeup : Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys to Join, Pharrell Williams to Exit Next Season ( Exclusive ) ''. TheWrap. Retrieved July 4, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Etkin, Jamie ( September 4, 2013 ). `` How J. Lo 's New $17.5 Million `` Idol '' Contract Compares To Other Reality Judges ' ``. Buzzfeed. Retrieved July 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Rushfield, Ricchard. `` Idol Terror - Is Seacrest Out ? An Ankler Special Report ''. The Ankler. Retrieved July 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Gerencer, Tommy ( November 28, 2016 ). `` How Much Money Do The Voice Coaches Make ? ''. MoneyNation. Retrieved July 4, 2017. Jump up ^ `` TVs Highest Paid Star ? Judge Judy ( by a mile ) ''. newser.com. Aug 22, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Barbara Walters ''. Forbes.com. June 14, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Spotlights Monologues extended ''. Toronto Star. January 30, 2001. Jump up ^ `` Oprah 's $260 M salary proves talk is n't cheap ''. CBC News. July 25, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Springer 's denies knowledge about show 's business details ''. June 5, 1999. Jump up ^ http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3216709/Everybody-loves-raises-LIFE-ARTS.html Jump up ^ http://www.thestreet.com/p/newsanalysis/sbmanagement/10380979_2.html Jump up ^ Starr, Michael ( May 2, 2002 ). `` Stays for Another ' Day ' ''. Fox News. Retrieved August 12, 2013. Jump up ^ Durden, Douglas ( September 14, 2006 ). `` ' Today ' gives new host a very warm welcome ''. Richmond Times. Jump up ^ `` Vieira chosen as Couric 's ' Today ' successor ''. NBC. April 7, 2006. Retrieved September 10, 2014. Jump up ^ Carter, Bill ( December 20, 2001 ). `` Katie Couric Signs NBC Contract Said to Be Largest in TV News ''. The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2013. External links ( 1 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_highest_paid_American_television_stars&oldid=814948677 '' Categories : American television personalities American television - related lists United States - related lists of superlatives Wages and salaries Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from September 2014 Use mdy dates from November 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 11 December 2017, at 21 : 10. About Wikipedia

Question: highest-paid american tv star on a network primetime show 2017
Answer: Simon Cowell