Celebrity Big Brother: Why The Grand Prize Should Be Raised Like BB23

Following the grand prize increase on Big Brother 23, the grand prize of $250,000 on Celebrity Big Brother season 3 should be raised as well in order for the celebrities to commit more to play the game. Longtime viewers know that famous houseguests get reportedly paid $100,000 on CBB just to step foot inside the house and be a part of the cast. That is a much, much higher salary than regular contestants on Big Brother who receive a measly weekly stipend of $1,000 for every week that they’re on the show (via Page Six).

On the other hand, the winner of Celebrity Big Brother has always taken home a grand prize of $250,000 – literally half of the $500,000 prize that is paid out to Big Brother winners since the very first season of the series. After 23 seasons of regular Big Brother, fans called for the show to increase the $500,000 prize. With inflation being taken into consideration, the $500,000 prize won by Big Brother 1 winner Eddie McGee would be worth around $750,000 in 2022. In response, the grand prize was raised to $750,000 on BB23, which is what Xavier Prather took home after winning the season.

Even though not a lot of time has passed between Celebrity Big Brother season 1 (aired in 2018) and season 3 (aired in 2022), the grand prize of the show should still be slightly raised so that the players commit to playing the game a little harder. Time after time, CBB puts together a cast of celebrities that feel very comfortable going home, don’t try too hard to compete or play the game, and don’t know a single thing about the show. The best way for these contestants to get their heads in the Big Brother game is to increase the grand prize to an amount that is more attractive to their finances.

While $250,000 is a large sum of money to the average person, celebrities expect to be paid a lot more to be featured on TV shows and movies. There’s also the factor that they’re paid a whopping $100,000 upfront just to show up on Celebrity Big Brother. As a result, there’s no real incentive for these famous individuals to potentially “look bad” on TV for playing the game and backstabbing other contestants just to win $250,000. They’ve already cashed in $100,000 just to enter the house. One potential solution would be to reduce the upfront salary paid out to celebrities on CBB, but that would make it even harder for production to find famous people who are willing to sign up for the show.

So, the only other solution for Celebrity Big Brother to get famous houseguests to try harder on the show is to raise the grand prize to something that is far higher than what they’ve already made just by default. Risking one’s career by potentially angering the fans just to make $250,000 is just not an attractive deal for most celebrities. While it is hard to calculate what the grand prize should be raised to, it certainly seems like it desperately needs an increase.

Celebrity Big Brother season 3 is currently airing on CBS. Check out the show’s full schedule here.

Source: Page Six

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Bernardo Sim
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Bernardo Sim writes about TV shows, queer culture, & Brazilian media. Born and raised in the Amazon, he now lives in South Florida. he/him

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