Sydney Sweeney’s Fears of Having ‘No Money’ Resurface Amid Claims She’s ‘Cheapening’ Her Brand With American Eagle Ad
Jason Pham
Sydney Sweeney‘s net worth is in question after her viral American Eagle ad led fans to question her career choices and whether she was “cheapening her brand” in exchange for more wealth.
What’s Sydney Sweeney’s net worth?
Sweeney‘s net worth is $40 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Her net worth includes her salaries from movies and TV shows like Euphoria, The White Lotus, The Handmaid’s Tale, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Anyone But You, and Madame Web. Her worth also accounts for her deals as a spokesperson for brands like Armani, Ford, Samsung, Laneige, and American Eagle, which she went viral for in July 2025 for a controversial ad titled “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” in which she was criticized for her pronunciation of certain words. The campaign was also slammed for its play on “genes” and “jeans,” with many critics claiming it was racially charged and hinted at genetic superiority. Others also accused the commercial of catering to the male gaze.
Following the viral moment, Sweeney was also criticized by fans for taking too many brand deals and “ruining her career” as an actor and “cheapening her brand.” “All these ads and for what? A quick buck at the expense of a short acting career?” a TikTok user wrote. Another TikTok user wrote, “Sydney Sweeney might have the WORST team in Hollywood right now. They are doing everything to solidify her as a Temu ad s*s symbol ruining her reputaiton with horrible campaigns instead of focusing on her talent finding her another great role and positioning her as the serious actress she was. She needs a new team YESTERDAY.” On more user commented, “I’ve been saying this… her team is AWFUL, oversaturating her in the media with terrible endoresements, putting her in boring roles, alienating her female fanbase, it’s 101 in how to squander public goodwill. I dont think she’s educated or saavy enough to be making the big decisions tbh, but if she is then her team needs to be telling her no and making her see reason! Bad all around.”
Before her American Eagle ad went viral, Sweeney opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about her insecurity around financial stability. “I want to have a family, I’ve always wanted to be a young mom, and I’m worried about how this industry puts stigmas on young women who have children and looks at them in a different light,” she said. “I was worried that, if I don’t work, there is no money and no support for kids I would have.”
She went on to claim that she didn’t have enough saved at the time to even take a six-month break from working. “If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have income to cover that,” she said. “I don’t have someone supporting me, I don’t have anyone I can turn to, to pay my bills or call for help…They don’t pay actors like they used to, and with streamers, you no longer get residuals. The established stars still get paid, but I have to give 5 percent to my lawyer, 10 percent to my agents, 3 percent or something like that to my business manager. I have to pay my publicist every month, and that’s more than my mortgage.”
How much does Sydney Sweeney make from Euphoria?
Sweeney made $350,000 for Season 1 of Euphoria in 2019, which equated to around $44,000 per episode for eight episodes, according to Us Weekly. While her salary for later seasons hasn’t been confirmed, an agent source for Us Weekly claimed that she likely made $1 million per episode for Season 3 after the success of her movie, Anyone But You. “There’s no way Sydney Sweeney is going to come back to Euphoria for anything less than a million per episode,” the agent source said. “Anyone But You was so successful, and she was the main reason it was such a hit. She’s smart. She produced it, she promoted it, and it made her very rich. They will need to pay her a salary that is comparable to what she’d make if she was making a movie.”
In comparison, Us Weekly reported that Zendaya, who also serves as an executive producer on Euphoria, renegotiated her contract in 2023 to be paid $1 million per episode of the series. The agent source also noted that Jacob Elordi is also another cast member that likely received a massive raise between seasons 2 and 3 after movies like Saltburn. “Jacob Elordi is on the fast-track to an Oscar,” the source said. “He has big, serious films coming out this year. He doesn’t need Euphoria anymore, and if Levinson makes things too difficult, his team will probably try to pull him from the show altogether.”
