Ryan Seacrest Reveals His 2025 ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Goal After Replacing Pat Sajak

Ryan Seacrest had quite an eventful 2024. Indeed, he replaced the legendary Pat Sajak on the iconic game show Wheel of Fortune back in September. Now that 2025 is officially upon us, Seacrest is opening up about his goal for the new year, and it’s a big one!

Seacrest’s 2025 Goal

“I am always impressed and grateful for what the show has meant to me before I even started working there and what it means to so many people and generations around the country,” Seacrest, 50, told Fox News.

“I love giving away the money…I get so excited when people win the money, and they win a lot of money,” he continued. “I’m hoping to give away a million dollars in 2025.”

We’d bet dollars to donuts he’s not half as excited as fans are to hear it.

Wheel of Fortune will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. “I plan to walk out and give away a lot of money to celebrate the 50 years,” he said while walking the red carpet at the 2024 KIIS FM’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball. “Hopefully we give away a million dollars. I want that million dollar wedge to make it to the end so somebody gets to win that.”

Related: Ryan Seacrest Allegedly Regrets Replacing Pat Sajak On ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ – ‘No Winning This Fight’

History Of The $1 Million Wedge

The $1 million wedge was introduced by Wheel of Fortune back in 2008. Since then, just three contestants have managed to walk away from Wheel of Fortune with the $1 million prize.

The first contestant to achieve this was New Jersey floral designer Michelle Loewenstein Moore. She walked away with $1,026,080, the biggest prize in the show’s history at that point, back in 2008. Watch her win in the video below.

The second million dollar winner was Autumn Erhard, a sales representative from Orange County, California. She won her prize in 2013. Finally, in 2014, Sarah Manchester, a middle school math teacher from Silver Spring, Maryland, also became a million dollar winner. Check out her win in the video below.

It’s been over a decade since then, so another $1 million winner on Wheel of Fortune is desperately needed!

It should be noted that in the Celebrity Wheel of Fortune world, the former Sabrina the Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart won $1 million for charity in 2021. Relive that amazing moment in the video below.

Related: Ryan Seacrest Enrages ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Fans With ‘Mistake Pat Would Never Make’

Sajak Retires From Wheel Of Fortune

Seacrest has been hosting Wheel of Fortune since September. He took over after Sajak, 78, retired in June. Sajak’s retirement was an emotional one, as he had been hosting Wheel of Fortune for 43 years.

“Well, the time has come to say goodbye,” he said at the end of his final show. “I have a few thanks and acknowledgments before I go, and I want to start with all of you watching out there. It’s been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade.”

“And I’ve always felt like the privilege came with the responsibility to keep this daily half hour a safe place for family fun,” Sajak continued. “No social issues, no politics, nothing embarrassing I hope, just a game.”

“But gradually it became more than that,” he concluded. “A place where kids learned their letters, where people from other countries honed their English skills, where families came together along with friends and neighbors, and entire generations. What an honor to play even a small part in all of that. Thank you for allowing me into your lives.”

Watch Sajak’s full goodbye in the video below.

Sajak’s longtime co-host Vanna White has stayed on Wheel of Fortune after extending her contract through at least 2026. Here’s hoping that she and Seacrest get to give away $1 million to at least one lucky contestant sometime this year!