Their $1 million ultimatum comes days after a report that series co-creator and star, Seinfeld, will pocket a cool million per episode to return for a ninth season, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Calls to NBC and the actors' representatives have not been returned.
The Seinfeld co-stars first negotiated as a team three years ago. Although they began working on the show for different rates, they decided to enter into "favored nations" status--all for one salary, one salary for all, the Reporter said.
Seinfeld has already agreed to a $1 million per episode for a 22-show season, according to the Reporter--a pay boost that would make him one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. He currently makes $500,000 each show and could take home as much as $40 million from a $3 million per episode syndication deal for the sitcom's reruns.
The three ensemble players were reportedly offered $500,000 per episode contracts, up from their current rate of $125,000 per episode. But that's apparently not enough for Alexander, Louis-Dreyfus and Richards, who also want a cut of the profits from the sitcom as part of their $1 million salary.
At last week's meeting of television critics, reporters asked NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield if Seinfeld was going to become the most expensive show in the history of the tube. According to the Reporter, Littlefield declined to comment on the cost, only saying "(Seinfeld) has clearly established that it is extremely valuable to us and to the people who own the negative."