Big Brother 28 was always going to create an unusual power imbalance.

The season began with 14 new players and then added three recognizable reality TV veterans: Rick Devens, Dee Valladares and Angela Murray.

That twist immediately gave the veterans something the rest of the cast could not replicate overnight — experience.

But the gap may have gone beyond strategy.

According to The U.S. Sun, a production insider claims the returning reality TV personalities are being paid significantly more per week than the first-time Big Brother players.

The reported difference is striking.

New Houseguests are said to receive roughly $1,000 per week as a stipend while they remain in the game.

Angela is reportedly earning around $3,000 per week.

Dee and Devens, meanwhile, are said to be making close to $5,000 per week.

That means two of the season’s most recognizable veterans may be earning around five times as much as some of the players competing beside them.

And that money is separate from the $750,000 grand prize.

That distinction matters.

The weekly stipend is not the same as winning the season.

It is money tied to participation and time spent in the House.

So while every player is technically competing for the same top prize, they may not be entering the game with the same financial baseline.

The reason for that difference appears to be résumé.

Dee entered Big Brother 28 with perhaps the strongest television record of the three veterans.

She won Survivor 45 in 2023 and collected the $1 million prize after reaching the end with the dominant Reba alliance.

She later returned for Survivor 50 and also appeared on The Challenge.

The insider claimed Dee may even be earning slightly more than Devens because of the size of her reality TV résumé and the money she has already made through television appearances and winnings.

Devens brings a different kind of value.

He first appeared on Survivor in 2019, where he was voted out and then returned through the Edge of Extinction twist.

He ultimately finished fourth but became one of the season’s most memorable players because of his aggressive strategy, confessionals and willingness to make major idol plays.

His popularity was strong enough that pop star Sia later awarded him $100,000 as part of her fan-favorite tradition.

He returned again for Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, finished seventh and participated in the MrBeast coin flip that doubled that season’s prize money from $1 million to $2 million.

Angela’s résumé is different again.

She became one of the biggest personalities on Big Brother 26, where her emotional gameplay and explosive confrontations turned her into a frequent talking point and viral meme.

She later competed on The Amazing Race with her daughter before returning to Big Brother.

Her reported $3,000 weekly rate still gives her a substantial advantage over the estimated $1,000 paid to new players, even if it does not match the amount reportedly going to Dee and Devens.

The three veterans also entered with something money cannot directly buy: familiarity with reality competition pressure.

That became important almost immediately.

The trio quickly developed into one of the strongest forces in the House.

Their prior television experience made them obvious targets, but it also made them attractive allies.

For newer players, working with veterans can be dangerous because those players know how to navigate confessionals, competitions, social pressure and shifting alliances.

But it can also provide protection.

Dee and Devens in particular became close allies throughout the season.

That is where the pay gap becomes more interesting than a simple salary story.

The reported numbers do not mean Dee or Devens are guaranteed to play better.

They do not mean the new players are less valuable.

But they do create a different type of pressure.

A first-time Houseguest reportedly earning around $1,000 per week may be treating every additional week as both a strategic achievement and a financial gain.

A veteran reportedly earning close to $5,000 per week is operating from a very different baseline.

And that creates an unusual contrast inside a game where everyone is supposed to be fighting toward the same final prize.

The cast itself also highlights that divide.

The 14 original players came from very different backgrounds: a bartender and superfan, a jumbotron engineer, a former professional football player, a social media strategist, a content creator, an MMA fighter, a radio personality, an American Idol alum, a rocket scientist, a sales professional, a pickleball coach, a former collegiate athlete and a technology associate, among others.

Then three established television personalities were dropped into the same game.

That means the veterans arrived with more recognition, more experience and, if the report is accurate, more guaranteed money.

It helps explain why their presence became such a major structural element of BB28.

They were not simply three additional Houseguests.

They were pre-established personalities whose value to production may have been negotiated differently from the newcomers.

The bigger question is how fans interpret that difference.

Some may see it as completely logical.

Devens, Dee and Angela already had proven reality TV brands.

They brought name recognition, built-in fan bases and experience that likely made them more valuable from a casting perspective.

Others may see the gap as another reminder that not every player begins Big Brother from the same position.

Everyone can still win $750,000.

But before anyone wins anything, some Houseguests may already be collecting several times more money simply for remaining in the game.

That does not erase the strategic competition.

It adds another layer to it.

Big Brother 28 may ultimately be remembered for alliances, betrayals and twists.

But behind all of that, there appears to be another scoreboard running quietly in the background.

And on that scoreboard, the veterans may have started Week 1 far ahead.