Did Hoda Kotb leave today after being asked to cut her salary by $20 million?

Hoda Kotb sent shockwaves through Today Viewers of the show stopped watching after five years of airing.

While 60-year-old Kotb publicly cited her family as the reason for her departure, a puck The report, released on Friday, September 27, suggested that financial factors may have contributed to her exit.

The outlet reported that a source with direct knowledge of her salary said Kotb makes more than $20 million in her role, and NBC suggested a pay cut.

“This is the age of a major reshaping of television news contracts,” said one media executive puck. “Everyone will have their wages cut or their jobs eliminated.”

Related: The “Today” show hosts react to Hoda Kotb’s surprise exit

The news of Hoda Kotb's exit from the Today show is bittersweet for her co-hosts. “I just turned 60 and it was a monumental moment for me when I turned 60 because I started thinking about this decade: What does this decade mean? What does it hold? What will it have for me?” Kotb, […]

According to the network, NBC executives found it difficult to justify the salary given the decline of the TV industry, even though the co-host was of great value to the network. (Today averaged 2.8 million viewers compared to 5 million viewers a decade ago.)

Us weekly has reached out to Kotb's representative for comment.

Live on air, Kotb announced she was leaving Today Show on Thursday September 26th.

“At 60, I realized it was time for me to turn the page and try something new. “This is the right time for me to move on,” she revealed through tears.

She added that her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, were the motivation behind her decision to leave.

At the same time, a letter written by Kotb was passed on Today 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 decision. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I feel that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”

In the statement, Kotb revealed that she had been thinking about leaving the show for some time and was reflecting on her career before looking to the future.

“I've been weighing this decision for a while – am I really ready?” she said. “But my 60th birthday party at the Plaza felt like a change. Like a huge, joyful YES, that's you! I saw it all so clearly: my broadcasting career was more than meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead of me and now my daughters and my mother need and deserve a bigger piece of my time pie. I will miss you all dearly, but I am ready and excited.”

Related: Hoda Kotb's most memorable and emotional moments from the “Today” show

Nathan Congleton/NBC Hoda Kotb's nearly 20 years on the Today show have been full of unforgettable moments. The TV personality announced in September 2024 that she would be leaving the iconic morning show after 26 years at NBC, 16 years as a Today co-host and seven years as Savannah Guthrie's co-host. “I just turned around […]

Kotb has been at NBC for nearly three decades. She joined Today in 2007 and became co-host of the morning show on the side Savannah Guthrie in 2018. Guthrie remains in that position.

While Kotb's announcement shocked Today For those watching the show, her exit wasn't that surprising to some in the industry.

“It’s such a difficult task in your life,” an NBC insider said exclusively Us weekly on Thursday, September 26th. “I think the average person understands that morning television is not glamorous.”

The insider added: “This industry is not for the faint of heart.”

The source noted that while Guy Today Hosts and NBC executives knew about Kotb's decision to leave the show, but others were not privy to the information.