Bobby Bones is pulling back the curtain and sharing some of his most well-kept financial secrets behind his successful career.
In a candid discussion with Bachelor Nation’s Jason Tartick, the Dancing With the Stars alum recalled spending $12,000 of his own money on two billboards.
“I bought the two biggest billboards in the middle of Nashville and all I wrote was, ‘Go away Bobby Bones’ with no credit to anybody,” Bones, 45, shared on the Monday, September 15, episode of the “Trading Secrets” podcast. “I knew it would make people wonder and hopefully care.”
After paying a little extra to the billboard manager to ensure nobody found out who created the ad, Bones finally had the opportunity to reveal the truth in his 2019 book, Fail Until You Don’t: Fight Grind Repeat.
Whether competing on TV for a cash prize or simply being filmed while living your day-to-day life, reality television stars almost always get a paycheck — and it may be bigger than you think. In 2021, Jason Tartick launched a “Trading Secrets” podcast, during which he is focused on “break[ing] the stigma that we shouldn’t […]
“It was the greatest thing I’ve ever done as far as doing something to get people to notice me for the first time,” Bones shared in his latest podcast interview. “For me, I don’t know if I would have existed or had longevity here had I not done that.”
According to Bones, he made “millions of dollars” in return, going on to joke that he wished “more [investments] were like that.”
Billboard success aside, the radio host also shared insight into his American Idol contract. When he first joined the singing competition series as a mentor, Bones claimed he was getting paid $2,500 an episode. For the finale, he allegedly scored $50,000.
Bobby Bones Gary Miller/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
“I finished that season and they’re like, ‘Hey, we want to bring you back,’” Bones recalled of the negotiations. “I said, ‘I can’t do it at the same rate.’ They said, ‘We will give you $300,000 for the season.’ They ended up paying 1.2 million for the season. It was a massive raise. I was able to prove, through my action, my value.”
In 2018, Bones continued to find success in the reality TV genre when he was asked by his team at American Idol to compete on Dancing With the Stars in hopes of getting more attention on the singing show.
While some expected Bones to be eliminated quickly, he went on to win season 27 with his partner, Sharna Burgess.
“That show pays OK,” he claimed without revealing the exact base pay he received. “First episode was no money, second episode was $10,000. I ended up making $400,000 from that show. Financially, pretty good.”
Winning Dancing With the Stars, Bones claimed, allowed him to make “millions of dollars” in other gigs, like a NatGeo show.
Away from any TV screen, Bones continues to find huge success on the radio, with nearly 10 million regular listeners.
“It’s a big show and we have advertisers who are super loyal to us,” he said. “They’re only loyal though because we prove [value].”
He’s also found success with several books, including his children’s read titled Stanley the Dog: The First Day of School. Although he has already made a little less than $1 million from books, he recently passed on a $500,000 guarantee for a new book deal
“I don’t feel like I could do a good job at it right now,” he explained. “I don’t have the capacity for it so I did say no to that.”
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