The lawyers for Matt Lauer are reportedly trying to get the ex-“Today” host a $30 million “golden parachute” after he was fired.
Lauer reportedly made at least $20 million per year before he was terminated this week. NBC News said that he was fired over allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace—which Lauer apologized for in a statement read aloud on “Today” on Thursday, Nov. 30.
Sources told The New York Post that Lauer’s legal team is trying to get him paid through the remainder of his $20 million per-year contract, which expires in about 18 months.
“They are currently looking at his contract and determining whether the claims against him, which clearly would affect any moral clause in his contract and his ensuing termination, would cut off his contractual rights to be paid through to the end of his contract,” an unnamed source told the Post.
The contract, renegotiated in 2016, paid Lauer $20 million to 2018.
Matt Lauer's lawyers reportedly want $30M payout: Will he get it? https://t.co/K34vYZSdYg pic.twitter.com/0FroYTzYzD
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) December 1, 2017
Another source told the paper: “There is no way Matt is getting paid. There has been an irrevocable breach of Matt’s contract, there is a moral clause that says if he brings the company into disrepute—which he clearly has—NBC can terminate his employment immediately without pay and they do not have to pay out his contract.”
Lauer met lawyer Eddie Burke Jr. on Long Island, according to photographs published by the Daily Mail and Post. He appeared to hand him an envelope.
It comes as his ex-wife, Nancy Alspaugh, who was married to him between 1981 and 1989, told Entertainment Tonight that she was stunned by the firing.
"I never saw him as a power monger or somebody who would abuse his position in any way," Nancy Alspaugh said of Matt Lauer https://t.co/XazgBpTofm
— News Talk 770 (@NewsTalk770) December 1, 2017
“He’s been the best person that’s ever held that job and I couldn’t imagine that anything that he would have done—that would have been so out of character for him—that would have caused that reaction,” she told ET.
She then praised his character, saying that some allegations might not be truthful.
“He’s just a very giving person and charming and I think a lot of this stuff is obviously going to come to light, whether it’s true or not, and some of the things that are being stated may not be true,” she said.
“We have to find that out, you know? As time goes on here, people should be aware there’s a family involved here. There are three children and that’s—I think it’s important to be aware that this can destroy a family. Reporting on accusations before they know whether they’re real or not.”
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