How much does Kenan Thompson make on SNL? Net worth and more about longest cast member explored

Kenan Thompson is the longest cast member and is set to return for the next season, which premieres on October 4. According to Parade Magazine, Thompson receives an estimated $95k per episode, though his exact earnings on SNL are unknown. The standard pay for regular cast members is $25,000 for each episode, according to the outlet.

More discussions surrounding the show came up as several cast members are now reported to be leaving Saturday Night Live ahead of Season 51. Kenan Thompson joined Saturday Night Live back in 2003 and has been with the show for twenty-two seasons.

According to Variety, longtime SNL cast member Heidi Gardner, who was previously the longest-tenured female cast member, is departing after eight seasons.

Other members leaving include Michael Longfellow, who joined SNL in 2022 as a featured player and was later promoted to the role of a regular cast member last season. Emil Wakim, a popular SNL cast member who joined last year as a featured player, is also exiting. Devon Walker, another cast member who became a full-time cast member last season, is also leaving the show.

More about Kenan Thompson's net worth, as longtime cast member Heidi Gardner and others leave Saturday Night Live

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Kenan Thompson is reported to have a net worth of $9 million. Kenan Thompson joined SNL in 2003 as a featured player before being promoted to the full time cast member two years later. Kenan, who has been with SNL for twenty-two years, became the longest-tenured cast member in 2017, surpassing Darrell Hammond, who was a cast member for fourteen seasons, starting as a featured player in 1995 until his exit in 2009.

In an interview with People Magazine earlier this year, in May, Kenan Thompson had hinted at the major changes coming to Saturday Night Live ahead of its fifty-first season. He said:

"Especially this year where it feels like there's maybe, possibly, a lot of change next year. You want everyone to stay forever, knowing that people may be making decisions over the summer … it's always like you want your kids to stay young."

He further added:

"You just never know what the future holds. I don't want to be in the way of someone else or I don't want to be the stale old man riding the same thing. That doesn't really happen that much at SNL but there's no guarantees, I guess."

In another interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kenan Thompson spoke about his future at Saturday Night Live. He said:

"It would be cool if I never left the show. That'd be crazy. I guess the only other milestone would be just to be the forever cast member. Just never leave the show. I don't really know. Thirty [seasons] is like, okay, that's just another number kind of thing. Twenty was just such a thing that nobody had ever done. People had gotten into their teens before, but nobody had gotten all the way up to 20. And then I was close to doing it. Once I started getting into 17, I was like, well, if I can, I would love to stick around till 20. And now here we are at 22, so I don't know."

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According to Celebrity Net Worth, Kenan Thompson makes an estimated $2-$3 million a year from his appearance at SNL due to his long-term association with the show, making him one of the highest-paid SNL cast members.

Kenan Thompson, has been nominated for an Emmy Award five times in various categories, winning once in 2018 for Outstanding Original Music & Lyrics for the song "Come Back, Barack." Apart from his work on Saturday Night Live, he has also built up his net worth from his appearances in various other TV shows and movies.

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