Mike Rowe Sues Discovery for Alleged Unpaid 'Deadliest Catch' Fees
Mike Rowe has sued Discovery for alleged unpaid fees during his time narrating Deadliest Catch.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Rowe, 64, and his production company Lab Rat filed a lawsuit against Discovery Talent Services on Wednesday, July 1. Rowe, who has narrated Deadliest Catch since its 2005 premiere, claimed that he and Discovery came to an agreement in 2020.
The parties allegedly agreed that Rowe, who is also the host of Dirty Jobs, would narrate the show and be paid $40,000 per episode. Rowe's attorneys also claimed that he was supposed to be compensated for the episodes he did not narrate.
Rowe claimed that the television company breached its contract for allegedly refusing to honor the "pay-or-play" agreement for his involvement in the Deadliest Catch and its spinoffs. (Deadliest Catch has spawned multiple spinoffs, including Deadliest Catch: The Bait, Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove, Deadliest Catch: Bloodline, Deadliest Catch: The Viking Returns and the upcoming Deadliest Catch: Northern Edge, which premieres in 2027).
Discovery did not use Rowe for five episodes during Deadliest Catch season 21, according to the docs. Rowe's legal team argued that he should be paid an additional amount after learning that episodes of the original Deadliest Catch series were "materially different" in international broadcast compared to the ones that aired in the United States.
"To the extent any of these international episodes are determined to be ‘originally produced episodes,' the pay-or-play agreement would apply to those as well," the filing stated.
People reported that Rowe and Lab Rat believe they are "entitled to payment of at least $2.04 million" after Discovery allegedly "exercised its choice not to use Rowe as a Narrator in at least 51 episodes of Deadliest Catch spinoffs." Rowe is also seeking "additional payments for 12 longer episodes" plus interest, per the outlet.
Us has reached out to Discovery for comment.
This is not the first time Rowe has taken legal action against Discovery. Last year, Rowe filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery. In a June 2025 filing obtained by the Hollywood Reporter, Rowe claimed that he was not paid residuals after Deadliest Catch was licensed to streaming platforms. Discovery Network refuted Rowe's allegations.
"We value our long-standing relationship with Rowe and have fulfilled our contractual obligations for royalty payments," a Discovery spokesperson said in a June 2025 statement to the outlet. "We dispute the allegations and will defend ourselves against these claims."
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This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 2:32 PM.