NBC will reportedly pay Megyn Kelly $30 million so she will 'go away'

It looks like booting Megyn Kelly from the air will turn out to be quite costly for NBC.

After weeks of negotiations, Kelly is close to finalizing a $30 million exit deal with the network, the New York Post reports. Kelly was fired by NBC last month with over a year left to go in her three-year contract, under which her annual salary was reportedly $23 million.

This firing came after comments Kelly made on Today questioning why it's racist to wear blackface on Halloween. She apologized on the air the next day, but by the end of the week, her show began airing reruns, and it was later confirmed that it would not return. Deadline reported that NBC was reluctant to give Kelly a hefty payout, which may explain why negotiations have gone on for nearly a full month and are unlikely to be finalized until next week at the earliest, the Post reports.

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A source told the Post that "we thought this would be a done deal a few weeks ago," noting that NBC parent company Comcast "has the money to pay off Megyn," and at this point, "everyone wants this to be over." Another source said that NBC didn't want to go through a lawsuit with Kelly and is paying her the full amount she's owed under her contract so she will just "go away."