Below Deck gave viewers an insight into the lives of some of the world’s wealthiest people, most notably their ultra-glamorous downtime on luxury superyachts. While their lavish lifestyles have to be seen to be believed, the staff hired to work on the superyachts are the real stars of the show, with many becoming famous in their own right among reality TV fans.
Below Deck cast salary
According to calculations by Slice, second and third stews earn a wage of around $5,000 a month, with Chief stew earning a bonus of $1,000 more, at roughly $6,000 a month or a little more, making up to $75,000 a charter season, which typically runs from May to October.
Deckhands earn approximately $50,000 per season. Chefs typically earn around $10,000 a month, with those who work the entire nautical season taking home around $95,000 a year. The Captain, the highest-ranking member of the crew, earns between $120,000-$210,000 per season of the show, tending to earn on the lower end of this range.
Chartering one of the yachts from Below Deck costs approximately $150,000 to $300,000 per week. For the majority of cast members, their salary falls far short of this, despite the popularity of the show on streamers like Netflix. However, tips make up a major part of a cast member’s take-home pay, averaging around $5,000 per crew member, depending on the generosity of their wealthy clients.
Other ways the cast of Below Deck earn money
As is clear from Below Deck, celebrity paypackets for reality TV stars are few and far between. In addition to budget restraints, most producers want their cast members to be “real”, living a closer lifestyle to the average viewer at home than Kardashians or The Real Housewives cast members.
Social media is a great tool for reality stars to bump up their earnings, and popularity plays a big role in making money. Websites and apps where fans can pay their favourite stars for exclusive content and interactions are a great tool, as well as brand deals for sponsored posts.
For example, Captain Jason Chambers has a Cameo page that charges $110 per video, with over 214 video requests completed. That’s a $23,000 bonus on top of his salary for each season of Below Deck. According to People, former cast member Ashley Marti makes over $50,000 a month on OnlyFans — far more than she claims to have made during her time on the show.
