There's no denying it, Friends is one of the best TV series ever created. And although the last episode aired back in mid 2004, you're nearly guaranteed to comes across a rerun of the sitcom any time you flick through your television channels.

Having earned a reported $1 million each per episode in the last two seasons (9 & 10) it would come as no surprise to you that they're all pretty well off in the cash department. What will come as a major shock is what they have earned since then...by doing nothing at all.

You see back when the show started, the six main actors, Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer were all paid different salaries. But before wage negotiations for the third season, they all agreed to be paid the same rate.

Then in 2000, they struck a deal with Warner Bros. Studios where they would receive syndication royalties for any episodes of the show that would be replayed in the future. So definitely not just pretty faces.

This broke down into 2% of the annual takings for each of them, and with the franchise continuing to generate approximately $1 billion each year, this translates into a jaw-dropping $20 million EACH per annum.

Don't look so surprised Joey!! That's what 236 episodes of comedy gold on loop will get ya. The Perks of the job ehh?

Dermot and Dave producer Maria Devereux dropped this bombshell to the lads and they couldn't believe their ears. 

Check out the fun in full by pressing the play button in the image at the top of the page.