Megyn Kelly shall depart Fox News on Friday, after which she will pick up with NBC for a multifaceted role involving a daytime talk show. On Tuesday night, Kelly made her thoughts known about her tough decision to leave Fox News, but ultimately, she chose a gig that would give her more family time. To her, this was more important than the reported $20 million annual salary. Now, both Mediaite and The Wrap reveal that Kelly received an even more substantial offer from the cable news network.
Mediaite was the first to report that Kelly was offered a $100 million package (via a “source close to Kelly”) to stay with Fox News for a four-year contract. The Wrap confirms the report with someone who claims familiarity with the negotiations, although Fox News has yet to comment on the situation.
These reports also shine some light on one of Gabriel Sherman’s recent New York columns from earlier this week. Sherman wrote that Kelly had asked for a $25 million salary, only to be shut down by Murdoch. However, a Kelly source told Sherman that Fox readily offered $25 million per year. Again, the $100 million number hasn’t been confirmed by Fox, but it seems unlikely that there will be a solid confirmation at this stage. After all, Kelly’s made the decision to leave.
One thing is super clear — Kelly will leave a void at Fox News that won’t easily be filled. Bill O’Reilly won’t have to worry about losing his top-rated spot at the network, but Kelly’s second-place ratings will be a big loss. However, at least Kelly and O’Reilly can continue to shade each other from afar. Should be fun to watch, no matter the network.