America's favorite groundskeeper (not ex-military officer or secret Harvard scientist), Donny Thompson, may be on the Big Brother block this week, but it seems like he'll be safe from eviction. With another week in the house, Donny becomes one step closer to the grand prize of $500,000. Recently, we figured out how much money Big Brother 's Frankie Grande earned through his many different jobs. It was surprising to learn that Frankie's estimated net worth was $500,000, just as much as the winner of the show will walk away with (before taxes that is).
The other day while the houseguests were sitting in the backyard, Donny mentioned he hadn't made $500,000 in his entire working life, and he could possibly win it in just one summer. That got me thinking about how much the groundskeeper from North Carolina actually does make at his job. Donny told to the houseguests on Monday that in order to enter the Big Brother house, he had to resign from his job, but he hopes his supervisor will reinstate him after the show is over.
While I am sure Donny will be able to get his job back post-Big Brother — assuming a network doesn't offer him a reality show, which I would watch obsessively — you have to wonder how much Donny was making before entering the Big Brother house. Here is the roundup of Donny's earnings.
Groundskeeper
While Donny's job salary is not confirmed, there are similar job postings for groundskeepers in North Carolina (within a two hour radius of Donny's town) that could help estimate his salary. According to this job posting for a groundskeeper for a community college campus, a full-time, 40 hours a week employee would make between $22,956 and $30,612 annually. Because Donny has experience and background in the position, let's assume Donny makes on the high end of that estimate, if not slightly more than the given numbers, so around $31,000 per year.
Big Brother 16
Donny, along with the other houseguests on the show, earns a weekly stipend for being in the Big Brother house. Based off of the 2007 salary of $750 a week for being in the main house or jury house and comments from the current houseguests who have said they could earn $12,000 for their time in the Big Brother house, it is estimated ($12,000/ 14 weeks) that the current season's houseguests are earning around $857 a week. Because Donny has made it to the jury at least, he is guaranteed that $12,000 unless he ends up in first or second place, where the houseguests then have to forgo the stipend since they win a cash prize.
Team America
While Donny is earning money weekly from being on Big Brother, he is also given the opportunity to earn additional money from being voted onto Team America with Derrick and Frankie. So far, Team America has completed two tasks, which at $5,000 each, gives Donny an additional $10,000.
America's Favorite Player
While it might be too soon to predict who is going to win America's Favorite Player this season, which will be revealed at the finale on Sept. 24, I think Donny has a really good chance. According to Joker's BB16 Houseguest Ranking, Donny had been been voted favorite houseguest every day since Day 8, until Wednesday, when Zach bumped him down to second place. But if Donny keeps up the charm, he could walk away with an additional $25,000.
Image: Lisette M. Azar/CBS
