Jennifer Aniston still earns $20 million a year from 'Friends.' So does the rest of the cast

Friends was nothing short of a phenomenon when it premiered on NBC in 1994. The sitcom was quickly a hit and became a big part of 1990s pop culture. I was in my early teens and felt like I grew up alongside like millions of fans. In fact, Friends continued to gain fans during its decade on the air. Then, after ten successful seasons, we said good-bye to Monica, Rachel, Ross, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey way back in May 2004. It seems like they never really went away, though, doesn't it?

The hilarious sitcom continues to have such extreme popularity across generations. Even Taylor Swift, who was only four years old when the show debuted, told Vogue that Friends is her favorite TV show of all time. Twenty-plus years since it went off the air, Friends is going strong and remains a beloved piece of pop culture that made its stars extremely wealthy.

From $22,500 to $1 million per episode: The 'Friends' salary story

When Friends premiered on NBC, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer were each earning $22,500 per episode, reported Forbes. Not bad, right? For most of us, that would be an incredible income. However, while that would be major money to most people, it was nothing compared to what they eventually earned. 

Solidarity empowered the cast of Friends, and I think their genuine care and concern for each other showed up on screen, too. While the cast earned different salaries for the second season, they all came together when it was time to negotiate their salaries for season 3. That's something they would continue to do for all the following seasons. 

Presenting a united front would turn out to be in each of their best interests. By negotiating as a group, they managed to get $1 million per episode during the last two seasons. That made Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, and Courteney Cox the highest-paid women in a television show ever at that time, according to Parade. 

That collective bargaining power was extraordinarily effective, and it continues to have a significant impact on their financial health even today. Over the course of the show's run, each actor reportedly took home around $90 million total in salary alone, before bonuses and royalties. However, the best was yet to come. 

The negotiation that made the 'Friends' cast rich forever

In 2000, as Friends was near the height of its success, all six cast members achieved something no TV show ensemble had managed to do before. They negotiated backend points, a percentage of the show's profits from syndication. Before then, the industry norm was for this deal to only be offered to creators and producers. It was groundbreaking that six actors managed to secure 2% of everything Warner Bros. made from Friends, reported USA Today.

That turned out to be an incredibly lucrative deal because Friends reruns are still in demand. It's a comfort show for millions upon millions of people from multiple generations. Therefore Friends generates over $1 billion annually for Warner Bros. through broadcast rights, streaming deals, and international licensing, according to Fortune. That 2% means that the six primary cast members of Friends each receive roughly $20 million per year.

In an April 23, 2026 interview with The Times, Lisa Kudrow confirmed that she and the other primary cast members make $20 million each year from Friends. When asked why, "Because Phoebe Buffay was so great?" she joked.

Kudrow then added, "After Matthew died I watched the show again," Kudrow says, more serious now. "Before, I only saw what I did wrong or could have done better. But for the first time I truly appreciated just how great it was. I felt I did OK, but Jennifer and Courteney? Amazing. David and Matt? They had me laughing so hard. And then Matthew — he was just beyond us all."

I completely agree with Kudrow, and I think that does a great job of explaining why they deserve to be compensated along with the production company and creators of the show. The cast of Friends together created magic on camera, and they gave their all to each other and the audience in every episode.

How the 'Friends' cast used their financial freedom differently

When you are financially set for life and never have to work again, what do you do? Many of us probably can imagine all the things we'd do or buy. After Friends came to an end after a decade on the air, the answer to that was quite different for each cast member. 

Jennifer Aniston had appeared in many films on breaks from shooting Friends, and she continued to star in both drama and comedic films after it ended. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she faced initial pushback about her dream of becoming a producer, but she persisted and made it happen. Now she produces and stars in The Morning Show, a highly successful Apple TV series that's been renewed for a fifth season.

Lisa Kudrow has also used her financial freedom to pursue challenging, unconventional work. She still embraces Phoebe Buffay and Friends wholeheartedly, and she revealed that she is currently re-watching the show while doing press for HBO's The Comeback. She also expressed her ongoing love for the show. The roles she took on during her breaks from Friends and after it ended are rarely anything like Phoebe, though. She portrayed an unethical, self-centered therapist in Web Therapy and a bitter, uptight character in The Opposite of Sex.

Others chose a different path entirely and stepped back from the spotlight. David Schwimmer focused on directing and theatre, pursuing creative work and not doing much press. He told BBC, "I think there's a tremendous amount of freedom, for which I'm eternally grateful, that comes with financial security. And as an artist, it's a tremendous privilege to then be able to choose the kinds of things you want to put your time, energy and creativity towards."

Theatre had been his Schwimmer's first love; he co-founded Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company straight out of Northwestern University in 1988, years before Friends made him famous. The money Friends generated empowered him to remain deeply committed to it, serving as actor, director, producer, and now board member. He used his resources and celebrity to open doors for the company that talent alone couldn't. As he told Modern Luxury in 2025, Chicago and Lookingglass have "always been my artistic home".

For Matt LeBlanc, financial freedom meant not seeking the spotlight. After the short-lived Joey spinoff, he largely retreated from Hollywood for a while. He had such an intense schedule after 10 years on Friends and two years on Joey, so he wanted some time off and loved it.

"My favorite thing to do is absolutely nothing," LeBlanc said on The Graham Norton Show. He enjoyed stepping back for a while and also accomplished a lot since the show ended, with his most visible role being a fictionalized version of himself in Episodes, a critically acclaimed Showtime series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, CBS Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Television are currently developing a new drama series that will star Matt LeBlanc.

Courteney Cox found a middle ground and used her financial freedom to explore multiple paths. She acted in very successful projects like Scream and some of its sequels as well as the long-running show Cougar Town. However, she chose a more private life after the show and co-founded the company Coquette Productions with her then-husband, David Arquette. She directed projects like TalhotBlond and Just Before I Go. She has shared more on social media in recent years, sharing fun videos on her Instagram account, @courteneycoxofficial, and she is an entrepreneur with a luxury homecare business cleverly named Homecourt.

Not every cast member found that financial security translated into peace. For ten years, Matthew Perry made millions of people laugh while privately fighting for his life. Despite having every material advantage, he couldn't buy his way out of addiction because, of course, it's far more complex than that. According to his powerful memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, he spent up to $7 million trying to get sober and attended rehab at least fifteen times. What's remarkable is what he chose to do with that struggle. He converted his Malibu home into a sober living facility for other men and spent his later years coaching others through sobriety.

Matthew Perry Foundation was established shortly after Perry's death to honor his chosen legacy and his passion and commitment for helping others suffering with the disease of addiction. In an interview with Tom Power in 2022, Matthew Perry said, "I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker. And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That's what I want."

'Friends' lives on and on

What makes the Friends financial story so remarkable is how it was achieved through solidarity. They are all still reaping the financial rewards of the heartfelt decision each actor made for the group to stick together. With the six cast members sticking up for each other, they changed a part of TV history. I so admire how they defied what was the norm at the time and pursued what felt right for them. With Friends remaining immensely popular today, it's likely to be enjoyed for many years to come.

Thank you for reading. For more on Friends and its cast, I invite you to follow me on Yahoo.