Contract reveals 'Dancing with the Stars' is paying Shawn Johnson big bucks

BY Eloise Parker
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, March 27th 2009, 5:43 PM

Police recently arrested a man accused of stalking Shawn Johnson, she meanwhile has quite a lucrative contract with "DWTS."

Will the promise of a mountain of cash be enough incentive for Shawn Johnson to put her stalker fears behind her, slap on another layer of fake tan and push on to the next round on “Dancing with the Stars"?

The gold medal-winning gymnast is guaranteed a six-figure paycheck for risking life and limb on “Dancing with the Stars," but could double her money if she makes it to the grand final, according to a contract unearthed by www.TMZ.com.

The tiny athlete, who had a major security scare earlier this week when an alleged stalker was arrested on the set of the hit ABC show, has already earned $125,000 just for appearing on the show, according to the paperwork.

The document was made public after being filed with the L.A. County Superior Court. A judge was required to approve the deal because 17-year-old Johnson is still a minor. In addition to her $125,000 appearance fee, Johnson is set to receive $10,000 a week for her third and fourth weeks in the show, $20,000 if she makes it to week five and an additional $30,000 per week through weeks eight and nine.

Her deal tops out at $50,000 per week for weeks 10 and 11 and a whopping $365,000 if she becomes one of the final two contestants.

Used to clocking up endless hours of grueling gymnastics training, Johnson will likely breeze through the compulsory 20 hours of dance training per week.

However, should she get struck down by an injury on the accident-prone show, her contract makes it clear that that DWTS has no liability.

According to TMZ, the contract reads, "Artist releases Producer, Network ... from any and all claims ... arising from physical or other injury resulting from Artist's appearance in the Series."