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.
Fox declined yesterday to comment about the salary negotiations.
While $36 million may seem like a lot of money for five months worth of snarky comments and eye-rolls, it's only a fraction of the estimated $900 million that "Idol" rakes in a year. As the lynchpin of the show -- without him there would be no one to hate and no dramatic tension with Paula Abdul -- Cowell believes he's due for a raise.
To get more of the pie, he's been leaning on long-time friend and UK retail multibillionaire Sir Philip Green -- who owns hot fashion franchise Top Shop -- for help negotiating the terms of what would be a new "Idol" contract, reports say. Green is said to be lobbying hard for an increase in Cowell's appearance fee on the show.
Sources close to the two friends say that this is just the first step to the creation of an international TV production, talent management and merchandising company, which would put Cowell in a position to actually make money off his ideas and the talent he discovers, not just reap a salary for having his mug on screen.
"This is about properly owning himself, Brand Cowell, everything he does, new formats and new programs, not just the ones starring him," a source close to Green told The Guardian.
Entertainment wiz Cowell, who signed international "popera" act Il Divo, is likely to run the creative end while Green, Britain's ninth wealthiest person, will focus on financial issues.
"Idol" is only one of Cowell's TV contracts which are on the verge of expiring. His three-year deal, which spawned hits "Britain's Got Talent" and "The X-Factor," with UK's ITV, ends this year.
