Over the past few years, Megyn Kelly has worked to become one of the most prominent TV personalities on Fox News. Her contract is coming to an end with the popular news network and she is currently in negotiations with the channel to stay on. This weekend, reports indicate that Megyn Kelly is looking to up her current contract with the news network, and if the numbers are true, she's negotiating for a hefty chunk of change. Reports indicate Megyn Kelly is hoping to make $20 million or more per year as part of a new deal.
Right now, Megyn Kelly does a lot for Fox News. She's been a key figure in the 2016 election cycle and she hosts her own new series The Kelly File, which does good ratings. This year, Kelly has been in the final year of her contract with Fox News and she even workout out a deal to host a primetime special last spring, which came third in the ratings that night. She's been doing a lot of projects, including an upcoming post-election special, but whether or not Fox News wants to shell even more money out to keep her around is the big question right now.
The Wall Street Journal reports that in the final year of her contract, Megyn Kelly is currently making $15 million, and while a salary north of $20 million would be a sizable increase--at least percentage-wise--apparently Fox News is looking to make a deal to keep Megyn Kelly with the network after her contract runs out. At Fox News, that's the type of salary that only heavyweights like Bill O'Reilly command. The Kelly File isn't quite as popular as Bill O'Reilly's show, but it does do very well in the ratings, averaging 2.7 million viewers. (O'Reilly's show generally averages over 3 million.)
Megyn Kelly's name has come up a lot over the past year. She was in the limelight when Donald Trump notoriously feuded with her earlier in the debate cycle. Her name came up again when Roger Ailes was dealing with sexual harassment claims, although she didn't file a lawsuit or officially come forward like Gretchen Carlson did. She also caused a minor controversy with certain factions of the population at the Republican National Convention when she did on-air reporting in a spaghetti strapped dress.
As an on-air personality, it's pretty clear that Megyn Kelly is in demand. There's a good chance she's also being wooed by other channels for different sorts of gigs, and whether or not she sticks with Fox News will likely depend on two factors: how much she enjoys The Kelly File and how much various companies are willing to pay her. More than $20 million is a huge sum, albeit not outlandish, but it remains to be seen whether or not Fox News wants to shell out that much just to keep her on board. We'll let you know how the whole contract deal shakes out in the coming months.
For now, check out what is still headed to TV with our fall TV premiere schedule.
