Ranking Reality Show Prize Money: From ‘Survivor’ to ‘The Challenge’ and Beyond
Rolling in the cash! While reality TV shows can be exhausting, awkward, and time-intensive, many contestants find the potential prize money makes it all worthwhile.
Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, who has clinched victory in seven seasons of MTV’s The Challenge, has amassed over $1.2 million in winnings throughout his participation. Prize amounts can vary greatly, with the top award for The Challenge reaching up to $900,000, divided between two winners in the 2021 season, The Challenge: Double Agents. For its landmark 40th season, The Challenge: Battle of the Eras increased the grand prize to $1 million.
Baking competitions also showcase a wide range of prize offerings, from awarding a simple cake stand to the champion to providing the top chef with a restaurant job and salary. However, talent competitions usually display the greatest inconsistencies when it comes to prize distribution.
For many years, coaches on The Voice have expressed concerns about the lack of adequate support for the winners from the record label that signs them, which is part of their winner’s prize package.
“We work with these artists and give them this tremendous workshop and get them to the end of the show, and I think the work that we do on the show is amazing,” former coach Adam Levine stated during a press conference for The Voice’s season finale in December 2017. “We give these contestants this incredible platform and a rare opportunity for extensive exposure. However, once we hand it over, it is the record label that often undermines that.”
Scroll down to explore the prize amounts from reality shows ranked from lowest to highest:
