Many high-profile celebrities have gone on to become judges on American Idol over the years, but some of them were paid much higher salaries than others. Alas, before getting to the highest-paid judges, it is important to note the salaries of certain notable judges that didn't make the list. These are judges like Harry Connick Jr. ($3.5 million per season), Randy Jackson ($6.5 million per season), Paula Abdul ($8 million per season), Keith Urban ($8 million per season), Steven Tyler ($10 million per season), and Lionel Richie ($10 million per season). All of these celebrities were paid very high salaries to appear in the judging panel of American Idol, but they weren't actually the highest-paid judges ever. After 19 seasons on the air, certain stars have managed to land the biggest contracts in the history of the series. So, let's analyze the judges with the highest salaries in Idol history.
5. Luke Bryan & Nicki Minaj ($12 million)
Two musicians are tied as the fifth highest-paid judges on American Idol: Luke Bryan and Nicki Minaj. Each of them received a salary of $12 million per season. With that said, Luke Bryan has now appeared as a judge on Idol for four seasons, which means that he has already earned a total of $48 million from the show. In turn, Nicki Minaj was only featured in one season of American Idol, so her earnings stopped at $12 million.
4. Jennifer Lopez ($17.5 million)
After the original trinity of American Idol judges left the series, Fox went after veteran pop star Jennifer Lopez to join the show's judging panel. During her many years on the show, J-Lo landed a salary of $17.5 million per season. This not only catapulted her career to new heights, but it also reinvigorated a franchise that had been slowing down for a few seasons at that point in time. As a result, Jennifer Lopez stayed in the judging panel for many years, sitting alongside the likes of Steven Tyler, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick Jr.
3. Mariah Carey ($18 million)
As The Voice kept rising in ratings by casting increasingly popular celebrities, American Idol tried to mimic that model by casting the likes of Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj as the judges for season 12. Considering the "I don't know her" dynamic that Mariah Carey has established in regards to Jennifer Lopez over the years, it comes as no surprise that Mimi negotiated an Idol salary that was just higher than J-Lo's. To come onto American Idol season 12 as a judge, Mariah Carey was paid a salary of $18 million.
2. Katy Perry ($25 million)
In order to successfully reboot the American Idol series, ABC reached out to multi-platinum pop star Katy Perry and offered her an impressive salary of $25 million per season. This made sense given how popular Katy is as a musician, but that figure also made her the highest-paid female judge in the history of American Idol - surpassing the likes of Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez. After four seasons in the judging panel, Katy has already made $100 million as a judge on the show.
1. Simon Cowell ($36 million)
The most iconic American Idol judge of all time, Simon Cowell was getting paid as much as $36 million per season by the time that he left the series. There were reports that Fox was willing to pay Simon even more money to keep him around, but the judge decided to leave American Idol after season 9 to launch his own reality competition, the American edition of The X Factor. He also stayed in the judging panel for America's Got Talent over the years.
American Idol season 19 airs Sundays & Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.