The details of Kyle Sandilands' generous contract with ARN have been exposed as the radio host prepares for an $88 million legal battle against his former employer. Court documents filed on March 20 reveal that the 54-year-old shock jock earned a $7.4 million annual base salary, plus an extra $200,000 for consultancy and $2 million annually for trademark fees related to The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
Sandilands also received $500,000 per year for 'contra airtime' and a $120,000 flight allowance. The contract was terminated last Wednesday after an on-air spat with co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson on February 20, which led to his suspension for 'serious misconduct'.
Sandilands has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in the Federal Court, arguing that his termination was invalid. An insider revealed that Sandilands will claim he received no warnings from ARN management about his behaviour and that the network promoted their on-air brawls through social media snippets and network-wide promotion.
His legal team, led by Kevin Lynch of Johnson Winter Slattery, is trawling through footage of the show to argue that fighting was 'normal' for the pair. Sandilands believes ARN conspired to sabotage his $100 million, 10-year contract after just over 14 months.
ARN issued a statement disputing Sandilands' claims and plans to defend the proceedings. The network argues that the termination was valid due to serious misconduct and breach of contract, and that Sandilands' claims are unconscionable under Australian Consumer Law.
