On Wednesday rumors began swirling that Bill O’Reilly was out at Fox News, and before the end of the day, the rumors turned into fact. As sexual allegations mounted against the boisterous, opinionated dirtbag, the Murdoch family was forced to move O’Reilly out.
Now CNN Money is reporting that O’Reilly not only had a parachute built into his recently signed contract—he signed a new contract in March, right before damn near every woman at Fox claimed he harassed them—but also that said contract orders O’Reilly to be paid millions.
“It is a staggering amount,” said a source personally involved in the exit maneuverings. While confidentially agreements don’t allow Twenty-First Century Fox or O’Reilly’s representatives to acknowledge the existence of a payout or the payout amount, two sources told CNN Money that O’Reilly has a parachute worth around $25 million a year. Both sources also said that because of O’Reilly’s status as the network’s No. 1 host, his contract extended through the next presidential election.
One source told CNN Money that O’Reilly won’t be paid all of that money because the contract also gave the network “outs.” Roger Ailes, the founding CEO of Fox News, was paid more than $40 million, the remainder of his contract when he was forced to resign last summer.
After being relieved of his duties as a right-wing rabble-rouser, O’Reilly issued a statement noting, “It is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims. But that is the unfortunate reality many of us in the public eye must live with today.”
Read more at CNN Money.