Do actors get royalties for commercials?
Initial payment: The initial payment compensates you for your time on set. Residuals: Also known as royalties, residuals are a form of secondary payment that you might relieve each time the commercial airs.
Residual compensation is really where commercial actors make most of their money. If a National SAG Commercial is shown often, actors will earn anywhere from $5,000 to $60,000 for their one day of work in a commercial! Personally, I made $40,000 in a National TV Spot I acted in for “Brown N Serve” sausage.
How much does a TV Commercial Actor or Actress make in the United States? The average TV Commercial Actor or Actress salary in the United States is $73,642 as of December 27, 2022, but the salary range typically falls between $60,685 and $89,913.
Actors (other than background actors) get paid again when a performance is rerun. In TV's past, those payments ended after a certain number of replays; now they can go on forever — making those “Law & Order” reruns an annuity for the actors. As for how much the performers are paid, it varies.
How much does Jake from State Farm make? The original Jake, the real-life State Farm agent named Jake Stone, made around $10,000 for his role as himself in the commercial. Kevin Miles, the new Jake, earns around $10,000 to $15,000 for his ads. He's also a social media influencer with a net worth of $2 million.
How much does Flo from Progressive make? According to reports, Courtney, who plays Flo in Progressive, earns $1 million each year for her role. Only a few other performers who appear in commercials get as much money as this.
How much do commercial actors make? According to ZipRecruiter, the national average salary for commercial actors is $63,003, with a range between $13,000 and $205,500. SAG-AFTRA commercial contracts require that producers pay session rates for commercials rather than weekly or day rates.
For TV programs, residual pay to SAG-AFTRA are due: Network prime time - 30 days after the air date. Non-prime time network - 30 days after the air date. Syndication - four months after the air date.
When shows are syndicated, redistributed, released on DVD, purchased by a streaming service or otherwise used beyond what the actors were originally paid for, those actors get residual checks called royalties.
For example, on a film with a budget of at least $2 million, under the SAG-AFTRA theatrical contract, the minimum day rate is currently $1,056 per day. If your role requires at least five days of work, then the rate is $3,664 for the week. Background actors make $182 a day, and stand-ins make $214 a day.
Who makes the most money from commercials?
1. Paul Marcarelli as the “Can You Hear Me Now?” Guy – Net Worth: $10 Million. After Paul Marcarelli appeared in his first Verizon Wireless commercial in 2002, the words “can you hear me now?” have been etched in our collective brains.
He earned well over $200 million from endorsements during that same time period. Even though he has been retired for many years, Shaq still earns around $60 million per year from endorsements and various business endeavors to this day.

While the exact amount isn't actually known, cast members have revealed that the reruns pay them 6% of their original salaries. If a star made a mere $150,000 per episode across all 20 seasons, that would come in around $200,000 per year in royalties.
The major difference between residuals and royalties in this situation is that residuals are paid out as the result of a service rendered (playing music) while royalties are paid out for content created (writing music).
Basic cable channel TV One confirmed that it still airs "The Cosby Show" reruns. Reruns generated more than $1.5 billion over two decades, according to a 2017 Forbes estimate.
Screen Actors Guild, or SAG, members who are extras in commercials are paid for the work that they do during a session, or taping, but do not receive residuals.
Residual checks on shows are nothing,” he told PopEater in 2010. “If you're doing a show and you're not an executive producer and own it, then you get residuals which can amount to checks from $2 to $2,000.”