Dancing With the Stars’ Jenna Johnson Reveals How Much They Get Paid

Dancing With the Stars’ Jenna Johnson Shares Details Behind Surprising Paychecks

A mirrorball trophy is nice and all, but that’s not the only incentive Dancing With the Stars’ cast members have to cha-cha their way to the finale. 

Jenna Johnson who made her DWTS debut 2012, recently shined a spotlight on how she and her fellow professional dancers—plus their partners—get paid on the series. 

The dancer, who took home the season 33 trophy with The Bachelor’s Joey Graziadei, detailed to Kelly Stafford on The Morning After podcast, that there’s no cash prize for winning it all. But, she said, “Whoever makes it to the finale, you all get paid up until then. And you do get a nice bonus.”

It’s just not enough to keep them in bronzer and sequins for life. “If you win, it’s not like you get a million dollars,” Johnson added “You’re just getting a cute trophy together.” 

As for those that take an early bow, she added, “You’re guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks.” 

Aside from the pros’ time on the show during a season, their salary is also dependent on seniority. As Johnson stated, “There’s different contracts.” 

In contrast, the celebrities receive a starting salary of $125,000, which also serves as a compensation for their intensive training during and prior to the premiere. As the weeks continue, stars who are still competing receive additional bonusses with the semifinalists and finalists getting paid up to $50,000 extra. 

Johnson knows what it takes to rumba her way to the finale. Two years after the So You Think You Can Dance alum made her debut as one of the show’s professional dancers in 2016, she won her first Mirrorball Trophy during the athlete themed season with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon.

She is also a two-time runner up, having come in second place with both Nev Schulman in 2020 and JoJo Siwa in 2021.

And though it takes two to tango, Johnson dispelled rumors that professional dancers are able to pick their own partners. “They do not tell us, insisted Johnson, mom to 2-year-old son Rome with fellow pro Val Chmerkovskiy. “They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live.”