You Wouldn’t Believe How Much “Leonard” Gets Paid for Big Bang Theory Reruns Alone

Johnny Galecki was once the second highest-paid TV actor in the world, only behind his The Big Bang Theory co-star Jim Parsons. Galecki played the role of one of the four lovable geeks in the series, Leonard Hofstadter. While Galecki’s breakthrough role was in the classic sitcom Roseanne, TBBT made him a star overnight.

Since the end of the series in 2019, Galecki hasn’t been active in Hollywood. He and his ex-girlfriend Alaina Meyer had a son in November 2019 and he has been focusing on his dad life during this period. In 2024, he welcomed a daughter with his wife Morgan Galecki. Despite stepping away from the limelight, Galecki has managed to maintain his massive net worth.

How Much Did Johnny Galecki Earn Per Episode Of The Big Bang Theory?

Johnny Galecki‘s success as David Healy in Roseanne brought him several opportunities in Hollywood. He appeared in the iconic horror flick, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and in the comedies Bounce and The Opposite of Sex. He also appeared in Rowan Atkinson’s Bean and Tom Cruise’s Vanilla Sky.

In 2007, he was propelled to new levels of fame and stardom with his appearance in The Big Bang Theory. He was originally offered the role of Sheldon Cooper but later landed the role of Leonard Hofstadter. The show amassed a huge fortune for the actor.

Longtime fans know that Galecki and Jim Parsons did an unaired pilot of the show. Galecki landed the series regular role at a reported salary of $60,000 per episode (via Celebrity Net Worth). From the second to the fourth season, Galecki was paid $250,000 per episode. His per-episode salary was increased to $350,000 starting from Season 5, which would continue until Season 7.

From Season 8 of the show, the cast including Galecki, Parsons, and Kaley Cuoco banded together to negotiate their salary as a group, a method popularized by FRIENDS. Accordingly, the three stars of the show earned $1 million per episode, which added them to the list of the highest-paid TV actors in the world.

For the final two seasons, the three leading stars along with Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar took a cut on their salary to boost the paychecks of Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch. Galecki’s per-episode salary for these two seasons was reduced to $900,000. Here are the per-episode salaries of Galecki in each season of The Big Bang Theory:

According to Forbes, Galecki pocketed $25 million in the 12 months preceding June 1, 2018, and became the second highest-paid TV actor behind Parsons.

Johnny Galecki’s Income From The Big Bang Theory Reruns?

Johnny Galecki has barely acted in his post-Big Bang Theory career. However, the show still pays him in a huge way, helping him maintain his massive net worth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Galecki and his co-stars negotiated backend deals for the show. The contracts entitled him to earn at least 1% of the backend equity of the show.

The star earns $10 million annually from the reruns of the show, given his 1% equity calculations. However, fans may not be happy to hear that the FRIENDS cast negotiated a 2% equity deal a decade before the TBBT cast and each of them earns at least $20 million annually. It also means that Galecki has earned at least $50 million from TBBT after his departure from the role.

Galecki made a return as David Healy in one episode of Roseanne and the spinoff series, The Conners. He also became a producer, working behind the camera on the show Living Biblically.

What Is Johnny Galecki’s Net Worth?

Besides his film career, Galecki owns 360 acres of land in Santa Margarita, California. His ranch was destroyed in a wildfire in 2017. Galecki also owned a $11.9 million home in Hollywood Hills, which he used to rent out for $45,000 per month. He sold the property after his TBBT run to move to Nashville, where he enjoys his life away from the cameras.

His salary from the sitcom and its annual backend benefits combined with his real estate holdings contributed to his current net worth of $100 million. The massive fortune helps him to stay off the map as it continues to grow without him doing anything. However, it appears that Johnny Galecki does have some unrealized plans to which he may turn his attention.

He was once developing a ’90s-set workplace comedy at CBS alongside John Quintance of Will & Grace fame (via Deadline). The project was titled AOK, however, no further updates were released regarding the series.

Johnny Galecki’s Net Worth Compared To Other TBBT Stars

When comparing net worths with his co-stars, Johnny Galecki is in a great place considering that he is the one with the least projects after TBBT. Melissa Rauch has the lowest net worth among the main cast with $20 million (via Yahoo! Finance). For Rauch, The Big Bang Theory was her big break and the show cast her as the second main female character.

She earned $175,000 during her initial episodes and $200,000 per episode during later seasons. The other actors took a pay cut to even out her salary, which resulted in her $425,000 per episode salary in the final seasons. Meanwhile, the same move also resulted in Mayim Bialik‘s pay increase from $175,000 to $425,000 per episode from her first appearance to her final season appearance. Bialik has an estimated fortune of $25 million.

Both Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar were unhappy that Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, and Johnny Galecki were paid a million for their later seasons. Helberg and Nayyar were being paid $600,000 during this time. There was some BTS discussions and the studio finally came to an agreement to pay them each a million like their co-stars.

Helberg boasts a net worth of $55 million, while Nayyar’s estimated net worth is $45 million. Galecki’s net worth is far more than both Helberg and Nayyar’s but slightly less than Cuoco’s. With her continued success in Hollywood, Cuoco was able to amass a net worth of $110 million. Jim Parsons’ net worth towers above his TBBT co-stars at $160 million, thanks partly to his producer role in Young Sheldon.

The show has also earned Galecki several accolades and nominations, including a Satellite Award for Best Actor. He was once nominated for a Primetime Emmy and later for a Golden Globe for Best Actor. He has also received six SAG Award nominations for his role as Leonard.