Yes—by the final seasons, reported salaries for Everybody Loves Raymond showed a sharp gap between Ray Romano and his co-stars. But the supporting cast did not simply miss out: Brad Garrett won a raise and a share of back-end profits, while Patricia Heaton, Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle also received syndication participation. The actors’ exact contract terms and lifetime payouts were not disclosed, and a widely repeated estimate that Romano earns up to $18 million a year in residuals is not a verified current accounting.
How much did Ray Romano make per episode?
In August 2003, the Los Angeles Times reported that Romano was reportedly earning $1.5 million per episode for the upcoming season—more than $40 million for the season, according to the paper. The figure was described as a television record at the time. It is a contemporaneous report about a particular season, not a public record of all his earnings from the series.
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Everybody Loves Raymond: The Complete Series (RPKG/DVD) | $51.87 | Buy on Amazon |
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Everybody Loves Raymond: Complete Series | $64.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Everybody Loves Raymond: Season 1 | $23.25 | Buy on Amazon |
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Everybody Loves Raymond: Season 3 | $8.32 | Buy on Amazon |
The same report placed Garrett’s pre-settlement salary at $166,000 an episode, or about $4 million for the season. That comparison captures the scale of the reported gap, but Garrett’s figure differed in other contemporary coverage, so it should not be treated as an exact, agreed-upon contract number.
How did the co-stars’ reported pay compare?
The Washington Post reported different figures around the 2003 negotiations. It put Garrett’s salary before the settlement at about $150,000 per episode, compared with about $450,000 per half-hour episode for Heaton. Roberts and Boyle were said to earn slightly less than Heaton.
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#1 Best Overall
| Actor | Reported per-episode salary around the 2003 negotiations | Reported back-end arrangement |
|---|---|---|
| Ray Romano | $1.5 million for the upcoming season, according to the Los Angeles Times (2003). | Agreed to share back-end profit with Garrett, Heaton, Roberts and Boyle, according to the Los Angeles Times (2003). |
| Brad Garrett | $166,000 before the settlement, according to the Los Angeles Times (2003); about $150,000 before and around $250,000 after, according to the Washington Post (2003). | A raise and a share of rerun profits, according to the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post (2003). |
| Patricia Heaton | About $450,000 per half-hour episode, according to the Washington Post (2003). | Kept her salary and gained syndication participation, according to the Washington Post (2003). |
| Doris Roberts | Slightly less than Heaton, according to the Washington Post (2003); an exact figure was not stated by that source. | Kept her salary and gained syndication participation, according to the Washington Post (2003). |
| Peter Boyle | Slightly less than Heaton, according to the Washington Post (2003); an exact figure was not stated by that source. | Received a small portion of back-end profits, according to the Associated Press report republished by CBS News (2003). |
The difference between the Times’ $166,000 and the Post’s roughly $150,000 for Garrett is a reminder that these are reported figures, not a single published payroll ledger. The outlets also describe the deal in somewhat different terms. Neither report gives contract documents or the actors’ individual profit percentages.
Did the cast get syndication money?
Yes. The Associated Press report republished by CBS News said Garrett’s settlement included a salary boost and a small profit stake, and that Heaton, Boyle and Roberts had agreed to a small portion of back-end profits. Back-end revenue can include syndication, foreign sales and home video; it is not the same as an episode salary.
The Los Angeles Times said Romano and the producers agreed to share back-end profit with Garrett, Heaton, Roberts and Boyle. It estimated in 2003 that rerun profits could approach $1 billion in coming years. That was a forecast at the time, not a confirmed total, and it does not establish how much any actor ultimately received.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does Ray Romano still earn up to $18 million a year?
A 2026 TV Insider report says Romano reportedly earns up to $18 million per year in residuals and attributes the estimate to Forbes and Vanity Fair. The figure is a secondary estimate, not a verified current payout: the reporting cited here contains no direct disclosure from Romano or a primary accounting record. It also does not provide a comparable current residual figure for his co-stars.
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Rank #3
- Standup comedian Ray Romano stars as Ray Barone, a successful sportswriter who deals with his brother and parents, who happen to live across the street. Frank (Peter Boyle "While You Were Sleeping") and Marie (Doris Roberts "Remington Steele"), love to meddle in his life while older brother, Robert (Brad Garrett "Suicide Kings"), sometimes resents his success. Nevertheless, Ray manages to keep a b
Residuals, salary and profit participation are distinct. The 2003 stories discuss episode pay and negotiated participation in back-end revenues; the later $18 million figure is an estimate of annual residuals. Neither the estimate nor the old salary reports establish each actor’s present-day income from the show.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Everybody Loves Raymond: The Complete Third Season - DVD Brand New
Rank #4
- (Comedy Series) Standup comedian Ray Romano stars as Ray Barone, a successful sportswriter who deals with his brother and parents, who happen to live across the street. Patricia Heaton ("The Goodbye Girl"), Peter Boyle ("While You Were Sleeping"), Doris Roberts ("Remington Steele"), and Brad Garrett ("Gleason") round out the stellar cast. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR
What the public reporting can—and cannot—show
- It can show the reported scale of the late-season salary gap: Romano’s reported $1.5 million per episode was substantially above the figures reported for his co-stars in 2003.
- It can show that the supporting cast negotiated participation: Garrett received a raise and a profit share, and Heaton, Roberts and Boyle were reported to have syndication or back-end participation.
- It cannot show exact individual contract percentages or lifetime checks: the cited reports do not publish those terms or a final accounting of payments.
- It cannot support a current cast-by-cast residual comparison: the available $18 million annual figure for Romano is a secondary estimate, with no equivalent verified figures for the others.
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