It’s no secret that money makes the world go round. It’s why so many of us strive to appear on a TV game show for the potential of life-changing money. The allure of shows like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was the prospect of walking away with a million bucks. However, as time has passed and the cost of living has increased, game show prizes have not kept pace with the times. So why haven’t they adjusted for inflation?

The Ryan Seacrest era of Wheel of Fortune recently awarded its first million-dollar winner in Christina Derevjanik. A major milestone, she shared that she plans to use her winnings to pay off debt and save for a home. A million dollars is a lot of money, but even compared to a Wheel of Fortune million-dollar winner a decade ago, those funds today don’t go as far as they did back then. Game shows’ big draw is the monetary prizes. The bigger the prize, the higher the stakes. But as inflation has gotten higher, the prizes have not. The same seven-digit grand prizes are still being offered. And that million dollars isn’t what it used to be.

Some Game Shows Have Adjusted, But Not Nearly Enough

Game show creators discovered the draw that $1 million could bring. It’s an easy, round number that has built-in temptation. When the American version of the game came around, the title was the allure because other trivia and quiz shows could never match that type of purse. But as a long-running game show, that part of the game hasn’t aged well. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator, it would take nearly $1.9 million to regain the purchasing power that$1 million had when Millionaire debuted. In line with inflation, the median price of a home in the United States has quadrupled in that span. That house you would have bought then would not provide the same opportunity today.

Last year, USA Today noted the inflation rate to prize ratio on some of the biggest shows today and what it would have to increase their pot to. It opens up this conversation. Are prizes not being adjusted because they just don’t sound as engaging as playing for a million dollars? Most viewers will likely never see that sum of money in their lives, so it’s still an aspiration. I suppose Who Wants To Be a Multimillionaire? doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Some shows have upped their grand prize, like Big Brother, which jumped from $500,000 to $750,000. Survivor only gave its last all-star season a $2,000,000 prize because it featured an all-winner cast. It dropped back to a million when the civilians returned. We can only hope that with Mike White in the Survivor 50 cast, the prize will increase again. One show that has been around for a far shorter span, RuPaul’s Drag Race, has not only increased the cash prize from its $20,000 sum in Season 1 to $200,000 today. It’s certainly not a million, but they’ve understood the assignment. For a show like Drag Race, the cost of drag has easily increased, and so, if they want the contestants to look fabulous, the incentive must be alluring. Though the argument could be made that the game show boom is not as profitable as it once was, the companies producing them certainly are. Given the amount of money that is thrown toward production and promotion, one would think there would be enough in the budget to award winners.

Contestants Are Willing To Play, No Matter the Prize

One unfortunate possibility is that, no matter the cash prize, it’s all about the experience for the players. Many of the contestants on shows like Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy! certainly have money on their mind, but they are there to fulfill a lifelong dream. Just being on the set and playing the game they love could warrant the experience. Money may go away, but memories are forever, right?

As Jean Westcott, a former Jeopardy! contestant, told Marketplace, she didn’t even make back what she put out to placing third on the game show. But she was willing to make the sacrifice to play the game she’s auditioned for decades for. However, her experience is notable as it serves as a reminder that the consultation prize has remained unchanged for more than 20 years. That being said, it is an upgrade to the merchandise previously offered for non-winners. Catering to those individuals who have flexibility and can pick up and leave for a monetary risk, Westcott said, “It’s not enough money, and it really hurts the idea of diversifying the people who can play.”

Even the cost of playing, whether as a winner, runner-up, or just a contestant, should be reflected and adjusted. It does cost a lot more to take time away for the experience. Whether it’s Wheel, a one-night-only game, or Survivor, which can last upwards of a month, including pre-production, the compensation needs to change to fit the current landscape of inflation. It’s not that the shows are taking advantage of the contestants; they’re just not incentivizing the experience. Sadly, though, if you try to negotiate for higher wages, there are more than enough individuals waiting in the wings. Perhaps when it comes to Wheel of Fortune, the only other thing that hasn’t been affected by inflation is a benefit to contestants. You can snag a vowel for $250!