The six main cast members of Friends made $2.5 million EACH to appear on the HBO Max reunion special. Which is nothing compared to what they made over the course of the show. But it's much, much more than they made for the entire first season.
When they started out, they were making $22,500 per episode. There were 24 episodes, meaning their Season 1 salaries were $540,000 each. They ended up making $1 million per episode.
In Season 2, they were making between $22,500 and $40,000 each . . . but not everyone was being paid the same. David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston were making the most.
Then they started negotiating as a TEAM, and from then on, the six of them were always paid equally. Their pay steadily increased until they reached the $1 million mark in Seasons 9 and 10.
To this day, they get about $20 million a year from syndication. EACH.
Good job, Friends!