Report: No NBC Payout On Lauer's Contract

Matt Lauer

NBC will not be paying out any of the millions remaining on the fired Today show host's contract, the Associated Press reported Friday. 

USAToday is reporting Matt Lauer is said to have earned around $25 million a year on his current contract, which runs through 2018 and made him one of TV's highest-paid journalists.

Some NBC News employees who raised the question of Lauer's compensation at a staff meeting Friday were told that he was fired "for cause" and wouldn't be paid beyond his last day, which was Tuesday.

Under most network employment contracts, on-air talent can be fired for violating terms such as a morals clause prohibiting inappropriate behavior. s

How could Lauer's "appalling behavior" be allowed to happen? NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said Friday he's appointed a team inside NBC to investigate. Plus, he plans to boost sexual harassment training and encourage better communication at the network.

He said a team of "the most experienced NBCUniversal Legal and Human Resources leaders have begun a thorough and timely review of what happened and what we can do to build a culture of greater transparency, openness and respect for each other," the memo read. "At the conclusion of the review we will share what we’ve learned, no matter how painful, and act on it."

Media watchers have suggested that Comcast, NBC's parent company, should bring in an outside panel to independently investigate the Lauer matter, on the grounds that it's problematic for an organization to investigate itself.

Meanwhile, NBC News is bulldozing and erasing all memory of Matt Lauer from 30 Rock by demolishing his office, ripping off his name plate from the building and destroying all pictures of the shamed anchor, according to The NYPost.

Network insiders said Lauer’s office on the third floor of 30 Rock was one of many undergoing renovation, but now they have instead started tearing it apart.