Simon Cowell May Get $100 Million A Year

No wonder Simon's smiling...

American Idol producer may bring X Factor to the U.S.

That silly Simon Cowell, always short on money and projects. Earlier this year Fox was reported to offer Cowell $144 million for next season's Idol, and today they're throwing more money at him.

It's said Cowell's been wanting to bring his British baby X Factor to the States for a long time, and finally, there a spot in his contract that says he might be allowed.

Fox is working on locking Cowell in to an Idol contract that will carry him through 2012 with the network. While the $50 million Idol salary that's being thrown around is just one-third of what was reported earlier this year, it's reported that this new contract may name him executive producer of an Americanized X Factor, for which Cowell could get another $50 million.

The parties involved in the negotations declined to comment, and there's no word on whether Cowell will appear as a judge on the show.