Captain Lee Rosbach is giving his two cents on how much Below Deck cast members make from the franchise.
“Do I think they make as much as the Housewives? No. But the Housewives for a long time carried Bravo,” Lee, 74, said on the Wednesday, January 17, episode of his “Salty With Captain Lee” podcast. “They got paid industry standard [for yachting] plus whatever else they negotiated with the network. Whatever that is.”
Lee discussed a recent Business Insider report that claimed certain Below Deck cast members are making $5,000 to $6,000 a month. While Lee didn’t have issues with the wages he received from the network, his cohost Sam DeCavalcanti pointed out that other stars from the franchise might have made significantly less.
“When you first come in, you start at the bottom,” Lee explained. “Then you work your way up, and as you make yourself more and more valuable to the company, then you get paid more and you request more.”
Below Deck, which debuted on Bravo in 2013, introduced viewers to various crew members who reside and work on a superyacht during charter season. The original series quickly became a major success for the network, spawning spinoffs including Below Deck Mediterranean, Below Deck Sailing Yacht, Below Deck Down Under and Below Deck Adventure.
Lee explained that in addition to making money from filming, Below Deck stars receive an hourly rate for their positions and tips from guests.
“I don’t know what they make. I am not privy to their salaries, but I know what they make in tips, and that is a nice chunk of change. The last season I did, we split up a quarter of a million dollars in tips [after six weeks],” the captain, who exited Below Deck after season 10, added. “Think about it. $1,500 or 2,000 for a three-day charter? That is pretty good money.”
DeCavalcanti pushed back by noting that some Below Deck personalities have claimed they weren’t “appropriately compensated” over the years. She questioned whether Lee thought the amount he quoted was enough, but Lee argued that those in yachting made a “choice” to work a few weeks on a boat before moving on to the next opportunity.
“I don’t disagree with [people getting paid fairly],” he concluded. “As far as salaries go, what someone else makes is none of my business. I negotiate what I want and what I think I am worth. We either come to an agreement or we don’t and I leave.”
The Below Deck salary debate kicked off when original star Eddie Lucas publicly voiced his concerns about his time on the series.
“I was not invited back to do another season,” Lucas told the New York Post in May 2022 after returning for seasons 8 and 9. “I actually didn’t even get a phone call from them saying they hired someone else — which kind of goes to show what the production entails. Everyone on Below Deck is expendable.”
At the time, Lucas revealed he had issues with how the Below Deck cast was paid for their work. “There is somebody monetizing off of the show, but it’s definitely not us,” he claimed. “Below Deck — regardless of it being the most popular show on Bravo — we are the lowest-paid cast members.”
He continued: “While we do get paid better than a normal yachtie, of course, we are still not getting paid what people like the Housewives are making, which is a little frustrating, because they’re not really working — they’re just going out to dinner and fighting.”
Lee, who recently had Lucas on his podcast, previously addressed the salary conversation in November 2022.
“I’ve learned that [Eddie said that],” Lee exclusively told Us Weekly. “Never say never because things change. Attitudes change. I used to [like] Coca-Cola and now I don’t care for it so much. You’re gonna morph into something different as time goes on.”
