sent shockwaves through Today show viewers after calling it quits following five years on air.
While Kotb, 60, publicly cited family as the reason for her departure, a Puck report published Friday, September 27, suggested that there may have been financial factors contributing to her exit.
The outlet reported that a source with direct knowledge of her salary said Kotb was making more than $20 million in her role, and NBC proposed a pay cut.
“This is the age of the great resetting of TV news contracts,” a media executive told Puck. “Everyone is getting their pay cut or their jobs eliminated.”
According to the outlet, NBC executives were finding it hard to justify the salary given the TV industry’s decline, despite the co-anchor’s value to the network. (Today averages 2.8 million viewers versus 5 million viewers a decade ago.)
Us Weekly has reached out to Kotb’s rep for comment.
Live on air, Kotb announced she was leaving the Today show on Thursday, September 26.
“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new. This is the right time for me to move on,” she tearfully revealed.
She added that her daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, were motivations for her decision to walk away.
At the same time, a letter written by Kotb was shared on Today’s website.
“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” Kotb wrote. “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I’m feeling that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”
In the statement, Kotb revealed that leaving the show was something she’d been considering for some time, and reflected on her career before looking towards the future.
“I’ve been weighing this decision for quite a while — Am I truly ready?” she said. “But, my 60th birthday celebration on the Plaza felt like a shift. Like a massive, joyful YES, you are! I saw it all so clearly: my broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie. I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”
Kotb had been with NBC for nearly three decades. She joined Today in 2007 and became co-anchor on the morning show alongside in 2018. Guthrie remains in that position.
While Kotb’s announcement shocked Today show viewers, her exit wasn’t as surprising to some in the industry.
“It’s such a hard job on your life,” an NBC insider exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, September 26. “I think the average person understands that morning TV is not glamorous.”
The insider added: “This industry is not for the faint of heart.”
The source noted that while fellow Today anchors and NBC executives were aware of Kotb’s decision to leave the show, others were not privy to the information.
