EXCLUSIVEJim Parsons Secretly Inked 'Sweet Bonus' To Rake In Big Bucks From 'Big Bang Theory' Spinoff 'Young Sheldon,' Source Spills
April 16 2021, Updated 10:23 a.m. ET
It’s been two years since Jim Parsons left The Big Bang Theory, but he’s still raking in the big bucks.
Parsons, 48, who was reportedly TV’s highest-paid actor during much of his 12-season run on the smash sitcom — pulling in $1 million per episode! — is swimming in riches after “secretly inking a huge deal” to be cut in on the profits from Bang’s equally popular spinoff, Young Sheldon, an insider tells OK!.
“He was already a producer and voice actor for Sheldon, and now word is he’s pulled off this sweet bonus,” says the insider. In fact, Parsons' estimated $160 million fortune makes him even richer than most of the Friends stars.
“He really did things right, and folks in Hollywood are green with envy,” the insider dishes, pointing out that Sheldon also just got a 3-year renewal. “It’s crazy to think that Jim was the one who quit Bang, but his role’s still filling his pockets!”
As OK! previously reported, Parsons knew it was time to leave the popular sitcom when he felt "exhausted" by the industry. Last year, on an episode of the "David Tennant Does a Podcast With…" series, he revealed that there was a lot going on in his life at the time and that he needed to make a change.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
“I had this moment of clarity that I think you’re very fortunate to get in a lot of ways, of going, ‘Don’t keep speeding by.' You know? ‘Use this time to take a look around.’ And I did. I was like, ‘I gotta make a move," he said.
At the time, his dog was very ill and he had broken his foot. Parsons knew he had to take care of his pup — and himself. “He just looked so bad and I was so tired and I just started crying. I was like, ‘This dog’s going to die while I’m off working and I feel so bad.' It was the scariest moment for the next couple of days because I felt like I was at the edge of a cliff. I was teetering and I saw something really dark below,” he said.
“It was clarity thrust upon you, as Shakespeare might have said," he added. "I didn’t know that I was searching for it but between the dog and the foot, I was just like ... ‘Okay. Let's take charge here.’”
