Destiny said:
William does not get 8 million an ep. I explained in a thread along time back (in 2005)
'LINK' that gave an idea, basically back then (around the time GE an JF were fired) the whole cast were in negotations at that time, Marg was making about 300,000-400,000 per ep, and William was making about 500,000 per ep. which may or may not include his exe producer pay check. You can bet that they have upped that by now if they have re-negotated again.
Check out the link I provided. Money isn't the only thing that negotations are for, they can be asking for a certain amount of screen time, Money, a better parking spot, time to film a movie, or made for tv on another network. To have an option should the show end they are automatically released from contract where as they can be held even if it ended.
The automatic assumption is that its all about money, its natural, but the thing is it could be anything or it could be about money. Who knows, thing is we are told only a little if that and the rest is kept confidental.