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Clayton Echard’s Net Worth Reveals What He Made as the Bachelor vs. on ‘The Bachelorette’

Even if he didn't love, he made bank.
Clayton Echard, "The Bachelor"
Image: ABC/Pamela Littky.

As Bachelor Nation’s current leading man, fans want to know about Clayton Echard’s net worth and how much he made from The Bachelor to date 30-plus women.

Clayton, a 28-year-old medical sales rep from Columbia, Missouri, was a contestant on The Bachelorette season 18 with Michelle Young, where he was eliminated in eighth place. Clayton was announced as the season 26 Bachelor in November 2021, however, photos of him filming The Bachelor leaked in September 2021, a month before Michelle’s Bachelorette season even premiered.

According to Reality Steve, several contestants from The Bachelorette season 17 with Katie Thurston were on the short list to be the next Bachelor, such as Greg Grippo and Andrew Spencer, but ABC chose Clayton for his story. “Clayton stood out right off the bat,” a source told Us Weekly at the time. “Producers ended up going with him because they believed he was the best fit for the role. They wanted to switch things up and go with someone new and someone who hasn’t been in the spotlight yet.” 

In an interview with Good Morning America in November 2021, Clayton confirmed that he found love on The Bachelor season 26. “I did find love, and I was a little skeptical going into the whole journey but I’m so pleasantly surprised that things worked out much different than what I had thought,” he said. “I’m just so excited to watch it back and have everyone else watch it as well.” Clayton also told Good Morning America that came into The Bachelor with a “checklist of sorts” but but the women surprised him when “they brought all of that and so much more.”

So what is Clayton Echard’s net worth and what did he make from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette? Read on for what we know about much Bachelor Clayton is worth and what his job before The Bachelor was.

Clayton Echard, "The Bachelor" 2022
Image: ABC/John Fleenor.

What was Clayton Echard‘s job before The Bachelor?

What was Clayton’s job before The Bachelor? What is Clayton’s job? Clayton listed his job on The Bachelorette season 18 as a “medical sales rep.” His Instagram bio at the time also described his career as a “former freestyle rapper and washed-up athlete now trying his luck in orthopaedic sales.”

Clayton graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in health professions and related clinical sciences, according to his Linkedin. He’s also set to earn a Master of Business Administration in health and healthcare from Southeast Missouri State University, where he’s an online student, in 2023. Clayton’s current job is as a sales representative at Stryker, a medical devices company, in Columbus, Missouri. Clayton was first hired by Stryker as a sales associate in 2016. He was promoted to sales representative in January 2018.

“As a sales associate, my primary responsibility consisted of completing a rigorous training program designed to adequately provide me with the knowledge and skills I needed to become competent in the medical device sales industry,” his Linkedin reads. “During my time as an associate, I was in an account support role, consisting of transportation of instrumentation, case coverage, inventory control, presentation of implants/instrumentation, and providing solutions to any and all challenges that arose.” According to his Linkedin, his job as a sales representative includes the same responsibilities as his sales associate job, along with the responsibility of “sustaining consistent growth in both the Joint Reconstructive and Trauma fields in the Columbia, Missouri area.”

Before his current job, Clayton was a sales intern at Fastenal, a wholesale vending company, where “completed a comprehensive training program which entailed learning a robust product line including tools, fasteners, electrical, plumbing and industrial/safety equipment for consumers and businesses,” according to his Linkedin. He was also an athletic training intern at the Dr. Glenn L. McElroy M.D. Sports Medicine Center at the Missouri Athletic Training Complex while he was the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Who did Clayton Echard play for in the NFL?

Who did Clayton Echard play for in the NFL? While at the University of Missouri, Clayton was a division 1 collegiate athlete for the university’s football team, the Missouri Tigers. After graduation, he was a professional NFL player for the Seattle Seahawks from August to September 2016. He wore the number 85 jersey. “After outperforming 4 other tight ends on a tryout basis with the Seattle Seahawks, I signed on as a free agent. While there, I practiced daily with the team and played in 4 preseason games. I made it past the first round of cuts, however, I was not able to make the final roster. Nonetheless, it was a unique experience that I was blessed to be a part of,” he wrote on his Linkedin.

What did Clayton Echard make from The Bachelorette?

What did Clayton Echard make from The Bachelorette? Clayton was a contestant on The Bachelorette season 18 with Michelle Young, where he was eliminated in eighth place. This may come as a surprise to fans, but contestants on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette aren’t paid. Along with no salary, contestants also have to pay for their styling, including their rose ceremony suits and dresses, themselves, which is why many contestants walk away from their time on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette with significant debt. Many contestants also quit their jobs to be on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, which can film for a long as three months. “I know that there are women in the past who cashed out their 401(k)s for the show,” TV blogger Dana Weiss told Mic in 2016. “Some have gone into serious credit card debt.”

What did Clayton Echard make from The Bachelor?

Clayton Echard, "The Bachelor"
Image: ABC/Pamela Littky.

What does Clayton Echard make as The Bachelor? Clayton is the lead of The Bachelor season 26. The current salary for Bachelors and Bachelorettes is $100,000, according to Reality Steve. Though Clayton’s Bachelor salary isn’t confirmed, it’s believed that he’s also paid the $100,000 rate, which isn’t bad for two to three months of work.

Season 14 Bachelorette contestant Jason Tartick confirmed in a podcast in May 2021 that he and his cast mates, Colton Underwod and Blake Horstmann, were all offered $100,000 to be The Bachelor. Still, though most Bachelors and Bachelorettes make at least $100,000 these days, that wasn’t always the case. Like most jobs, there are some Bachelors and Bachelorettes who have been able to negotiate more money than other leads. Some also made less than the standard. Dean Unglert, a contestant on The Bachelorette season 12, revealed in a past interview that he was offered $75,000 to be the Bachelor.

Emily Maynard, who was the season 8 Bachelorette in 2012, is often cited as one of the highest-paid Bachelors or Bachelorettes, with a pay of $250,000. In Touch reported at the time that Emily, thanks to intense negotiations, was paid to star as the lead of The Bachelorette, which was more than any other Bachelor or Bachelorette at the time. “The producers have completely changed the format this season in order to meet Emily’s demands,” a source told In Touch at the time. In Touch also reported that Emily was also specific about the type of men she wanted on her season. “She wanted only the best-looking, most mannered guys,” the source said. “She’s whittling it down to a handful of candidates who she will spend a lot more time with. If she doesn’t like a guy, he’s gone.”

Ashley Hebert, who was the season 7 Bachelorette in 2011, has had a lot of controversy around her Bachelorette salary. Us Weekly reported at that the time that Ashley made $30,000 for her time as the Bachelorette, which would’ve been $70,000 less than her peers at that time. Reality Steve, however, countered Us Weekly’s reporting and wrote in a blog post at the time that Ashley made around the standard $100,000. “I’m sorry, but Ashley would have to be the worst negotiator in the history of negotiations if she ever accepted that gig for $30k,” he wrote at the time. As one of the first Bachelorettes, Meredith Phillips’ salary wasn’t much. She starred as the season 2 Bachelorette in 2004. In Bachelor reporter Amy Kaufman’s 2018 book, Bachelor Nation, Kaufman reports that Meredith was paid $10,000 for her time as the Bachelorette more than a decade ago. The salary is about a tenth of what leads make today. In the book, Kaufman writes that it would be “incredibly rare for someone to make less than six figures” today.

What is Clayton Echard’s net worth?

What is Clayton Echard’s net worth? According to Marca, Clayton’s net worth is between $1 million to $2 million. Along with what he made from The Bachelor, Clayton’s net worth also includes his salary for his current job at Sryke, as well as his pay for the Seattle Seahawks. If Clayton also becomes a contestant on Dancing With the Stars—which many past Bachelors and Bachelorettes have starred on—he’s also set to earn a lot more. According to TMZ, season 17 Bachelor Sean Lowe made $125,000 from Dancing With the Stars, which included $10,000 for weeks three and four; $20,000 for weeks five, six, and seven; and $30,000 for weeks eight and nine, per his contract.

The Bachelor airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC and is available to stream on Hulu. Here’s how to watch it for free.

"Bachelor Nation" by Amy Kaufman
Image: Courtesy of Penguin Books.

Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman

To get more of an inside scoop, check out Los Angeles Times writer Amy Kaufman’s book, Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure, for a deep dive into the Bachelor franchise. The book uncovers the secrets of Bachelor Nation, from how much the Bachelor and the Bachelorette are paid to the rules contestants have to follow, that producers don’t want fans to know. It’s a must-read for any Bachelor Nation member.

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