Simon Cowell's 'Idol' Salary Could Be $144 Million A Year: Report

New York Post:

EARLY salary figures from Simon Cowell's "American Idol" contract negotiations are leaking out and they're eye-popping.

Cowell, who reportedly made $36 million last year for judging the hit competition show, has been offered three or four times that amount -- between $100 million and $144 million per year -- by co-producers Fox and 19 Entertainment to stick with "Idol" when his contract expires next May, according to The Guardian, a London newpaper.

Read the whole story: New York Post

Comments

[Cheesemelt]

I'll be obnoxious, ignorant, self-important and do it all with a British accent for 25% of that. And I'll refrain from wearing old t-shirts as well.

[Blurp]

$144M a year huh? What will that do to this prix ego?

[Grannysue]

WTF 144 mil, I can sit on my can and tell people they suck all day for a whole lot less then that!

[MaxxEliot]

This is insane and no different than the Wall Street CEO’s….the people who in the end pay this outrageous salary are the people who actually put on the show. The crew, the people behind the scenes, those are the people who will not even get a cost of living increase because there are not funds left in the budget. Yes this is capitalism but it is capitalism at its ugliest.

[commentator101]

That's ridiculous. Any one of the crew could be replaced tomorrow without affecting anything and you say "they actually put on the show"? If Simon goes the show would go poof and their jobs would go poof as well. I bet they hope he takes the deal so they all get to keep their jobs.

[swan1]

If he goes , the show flops, so..................

[YouDisgustMe]

pretty much...

[MIMom]

What in the hey FOR?

I wish they'd end this rid.iculous show...

[commentator101]

Yes because although millions of people have loved it for years according to you it is a bad thing and they shouldn't get to watch it.

Why not let people make their own choices?

[Voltage]

Sounds like Madoff, only legal.

[flacon]

Didn't anyone take an economics course in college? It's called CAPITALISM! It's not a perfect system but better than anything else man has contrived.

If God had done a better job when he created us, socialism might work.

[MIMom]

Aren't you afraid a lightening bolt is going to come down and smite thee?

[NoblesseOblige]

If God had done a better job, he wouldn't have allowed Jesus to go around talking about helping the poor and pesky socialist things like that.

[Clownbaby]

You mean Jesus talked about making the gov't taking money from people to give out to others? Or do you mean that Jesus talked about helping people without any gov't coercion?

[greysilk]

Demented. Western values are simply insane.

[-0013]

Quick let's demand that his salary is capped! Why should the man get paid what the market will bear!

It's an outrage!

[skatscan]

And the market will bear no more and now we'll have to bail out American Idol to pay Simon Cowell.

[RODERICK098]

He looked bored this year. Squirmed in his seat a lot whispered in the ears of the other judges really irritating and unprofessional. Also he was not pereceptive this year. For him to dismiss Lambert's reworking of a Johnny cash song showed how out of his league he could be when someone attempted something really inventive and refreshing. There have to be better people than him out there that would come in at a lot cheaper price.

[Gib]

Welcome to democracy in the age of mass communications. People apparently watch this show by the tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions worldwide. He is deemed to be a significant part of the show's appeal - strictly a commercial calculation. The Romans had prisoners fighting to the death in the Colosseum, so I guess there is some progress in human affairs (if it was legal Fox would do that too, I'm sure).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum
"It has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games."

[Mojo09]

Excellent analogy and one that contains more than substantially more then a grain of truth. The Romans showed excessive decadence and accompanying dysfunctional pastimes of taking morbid pleasure in human misery. The demise of their empire soon followed, so maybe thats a hint for our times.

[saintaug1]

Obama needs to go after the greedy Hollywood types. No one should make that kind of money. The government needs to regulate how much they make so prices at the theaters go down.

[Clownbaby]

Sounds like freedom!

So how much is too much? Who decides?

[jaybindi]

This is liberal insanity.

There's no way the Government should try to regulate how much a private company can pay Simon Cowell or anyone.

This is their right in a free country liberals. You can't control peoples lives through Government just because you don't like it.

[Gib]

Liberalism = market freedom. Look it up.

[faretheewell]

If he is generating $900 million a year for his employers, what should his take be? I don't know, but it will be what the market will bear. The one option would be to cap the deductability of salary at a given level. The same might be said for other expenses. If a company cares to buy a luxury suite at a stadium, should the expense be decutible? I don't think so.

[hypnus]

How about leaving Obama out of it and encouraging people tospend less time in front of a television?

[Clownbaby]

Correct! If you have a problem with what's on TV, don't watch it!

[Brett575]

OH puleeze!!!
Capping bankers who beg for tax payers dollars is one thing, capping capitalism ad hoc is entirely another. Are you going to demand caps on sports as well?
If you don't like the show, don't watch!!

[jaybindi]

Of course liberals hate freedom.

If the free markets and FOX is willing to pay Simon this much money then that means they can make much more than this in selling advertising for the show.

There are not many shows that pull in over 20 million viewers a week these days because of the internet and DVR.

It's called Freedom liberals and I know liberals feel they can tell everyone how they should live and how much money they should make.

Those kids in other countries are starving because of corrupt Governments who take the money meant for aid. Yet people around the world keep giving money to these corrupt governments.

[hackerblaster]

"Of course liberals hate freedom."

have you lost your mind? a bit fanatical aren't you?

[MIMom]

You should dr!nk so early in the day, sport.

[MIMom]

SHOULDN'T drink...or maybe YOU should.

[fcsakes]

"free markets" are exactly what got us into this mess.

You are incredibly ill informed or maybe just plain stupid.

[l3randon]

"Government-mandated lowered lending standards with the implicit promise of bailouts after the program's inevitable failure" are what got us into this mess. You are incredibly ill informed or maybe just plain stupid.

The difference between my post and yours is that I have actual evidence.

[1088]

I'll do it for 1 million! Totally outrageous amount for one person. I'll bet you he is an unhappy soul, because when you don't have the need to want something, there's no fulfillment.