Jason Alexander, Michael Richards and JLD make relatively little off Seinfeld reruns

As of 2015 Jerry had earned about $400 million+ from the reruns (as had Larry David).

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The fact that Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards don’t own a stake in the sitcom significantly reduces the amount they make from Seinfeld reruns. The International Business Times reports that “The three co-stars receive SAG-AFTRA residuals and a cut of DVD sales.” But the publication added that “Those cuts don’t come close to the estimated $400 million per year that Seinfeld and David will earn from the latest syndication deal.”

The Globe and Mail maintains that Seinfeld’s three co-stars get no share of the royalties generated by the sitcom. The paper reports that “Alexander said the three co-stars decided to get tough during negotiations for the final series in 1997.” The three “told NBC Entertainment chief Warren Littlefield that Jerry Seinfeld’s decision to cut them out of the show’s massive royalties had created an unacceptable gap between the actors.”

They did manage to raise their salaries for the final season. But Alexander told the Globe and Mail that they would have preferred “back-end participation.” (That means a share in royalties from future profits.) “Julia, Michael and I, during our big renegotiation for the final year, asked for something that I will go to my grave saying we should have had, and that is back-end participation in the profits for the show.”

Alexander added, “It was categorically denied to us, which forced us to then ask for ungodly salaries. We make very little, standard Screen Actors Guild residuals for the reruns.”

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