‘I have a sense of timing’: Jerry Seinfeld turned down more than $100M to make one more season of ‘Seinfeld’ — here’s why and how you can tell when it’s time to retire
Such a grand realization doesn’t always come easy.
Unlike the punchlines in his stand-up comedy sets, Jerry Seinfeld’s decision to end the iconic sitcom bearing his name in 1998 was no joke. In fact, the comedian was offered more than $100 million to film one more season of the show — but he turned down that huge pile of cash to ensure the series ended on a high note.
“The love affair between the people that were making the show and the audience was so intense — it was so white hot — I had to respect that,” he said in a June 2013 interview on the The Howard Stern Show, which recently resurfaced on social media.
“I could not go to that point where it starts to age and whither — and it doesn’t take long,” Seinfeld said. “Too much cake, too much anything — it changes the whole feeling.”
When quizzed by Stern about what “young Jerry” would think about his decision in later life to turn down a $100 million-plus paycheck, Seinfeld replied: “If you’re about the money, you’re going to go just so far.”
He then reiterated the importance of timing and honoring the sitcom and fans by ending the show with a bang.
“I have to say, I have a sense of timing,” he told Stern. “I have it in jokes, I have it in my sets, I have it in my career. I knew when to move to L.A. I knew when I was ready for ‘The Tonight Show.’ I knew when I was ready to do something bigger like the sitcom. I just knew. And I knew that was our moment.”
A grand realization like that doesn’t always come easy. For instance, how do you know when to call time on your career? How do you know when you’ve saved enough money to live comfortably in retirement? If you have lingering doubts about your golden years, here are two things to consider that may help clear your way.
