Vanna White looking for Pat Sajak’s salary to stay on with ‘Wheel of Fortune’

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Vanna White is eyeing a Wheel of Fortune deal that will earn her the “same pay — if not more” than Pat Sajak’s, according to a new report published by PEOPLE.

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TMZ claimed this week that White was looking to make 50% of what Sajak earns for Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, but a source tells PEOPLE that the famed letter turner is looking to take home more for the syndicated version of the program.

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“Fifty per cent of Pat’s salary is so outrageous that no one in their right mind could say that it’s fair,” says the source. “The negotiation is asking for much more than 50% of his salary. It’s asking for the same pay — if not more.”

TMZ’s insider says that White settled for $100,000 an episode for Celebrity Wheel (Sajak pockets just over $400,000).

White has been revealing letters on the game show since 1982 and the 66-year-old has made $3 million a year for the past 18 years without any pay increases.

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In 2016, Forbes reported that Sajak earned $15 million a year for his nightly appearances.

“She’s a really, really sweet person. She deserves so much more,” PEOPLE’s source says.

Puck recently claimed that White had hired attorney Bryan Freedman to negotiate on her behalf. The lawyer was said to be apparently “hitting the pay discrepancy issue hard with Sony, as well as possible gender discrimination with respect to White’s salary.”

A source close to the situation tells TMZ that producers think Sajak makes too much and don’t want to use his salary for comparison.

But they say, “It’s gonna get ugly if they don’t get more serious” with their offers to White.

Last month, Sajak shocked Wheel fans when he announced that he would be walking away from the show next year.

“Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last,” the television personality shared on Twitter. “It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)”

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After his bombshell news, White paid tribute to her longtime screen partner in a heartfelt social media post after his surprising news.

“When we started @WheelofFortune who could have imagined we’d still be at it 41 seasons later?” White wrote on Twitter, adding “I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come. Cheers to you, @patsajak!”

Days after Sajak’s retirement news, rumours swirled that White had fears that she could be shuffled out if producers opted to give the show a makeover.

But following the announcement that Ryan Seacrest is taking over, White’s job looks to be safe.

“I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak,” Seacrest said in a statement. “I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them.”

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Seacrest also praised White in his statement, writing, “I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.”

PEOPLE’s insider claims that White never asked for a raise over the years because she was fearful that she could lose her job, but that is no longer the case.

“Vanna was told, ‘If you fight this, you will lose your job. You’re lucky to have the job.’ And when people tell you that for so long, you believe it,’” says the source.

Sajak has hosted the game show since 1981, taking over from Chuck Woolery, who was the program’s first host when Wheel debuted in 1975. He also fronted a short-lived late night show — The Pat Sajak Show — from 1989 to 1990.

White joined Wheel in 1982 after original letter turner Susan Stafford left the show, but Sajak wasn’t originally sold on her as his co-host as she competed against two other finalists.

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“Vanna knows this,” Sajak told CBS News in 2020. “Not that she wasn’t lovely and wonderful and personable and all that. But she was the most nervous, by far, of any of them.”

Despite Sajak’s hints that the end was on the horizon in recent interviews, White said last year that retirement wasn’t on her mind.

“I don’t want to think about that,” White said in an interview with PEOPLE. “I mean, we’re a team. That’s depressing. I don’t even want to think about it.”

Looking ahead, she found it hard to envision a time when the pair wouldn’t be a part of the series. “I just visualize us just being there. I can’t think beyond that,” she said.

“I can’t imagine. Everybody relates Wheel of Fortune to Pat and Vanna. We’re like Ken and Barbie, you know?” she explained. “We’ve been in everybody’s homes for 40 years, so it would be weird having somebody else turn my letters.”

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Twitter: @markhdaniell

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