Ryan Seacrest has just signed a three year contract with American Idol to rival some of the highest paid sports stars. Seacrest will receive a whopping $45 million for three more years with Idol. This goes to a guy who has managed to alienate the worlds’ most famous couple and who once asked a pregnant actress on the red carpet at the Oscars if she planned to breastfeed. It doesn’t matter how Ryan screws up his side jobs, though, because he’s decent at talking to aspiring singers and lobbing stupid banter at Simon and will continue to do that for an astronomical sum of money:

Sought-after bachelor Ryan Seacrest has become an even bigger catch: The American Idol host has closed what is believed to be the biggest deal ever for a reality emcee and will triple his current salary, according to the Hollywood Reporter. His new paycheck: $45 million for three years.

In exchange, says the trade paper, Seacrest, 34, will work exclusively for CKX, parent of Idol producer 19 Entertainment. Best of all, the deal only covers broadcast-network work.

Separately, Seacrest will still maintain a cable agreement with Comcast and his gig as E! Entertainment’s main anchor. He’ll also continue to produce Keeping Up with the Kardashians for E! and a future Jamie Oliver reality series for ABC.

Reps for the producers and for Seacrest had no comment.

With Seacrest’s services secured, the Reporter also says that Idol now needs to nail down the future work of judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi. A question mark, however, hangs over a possible new contract for Simon Cowell, who is said to be paid in excess of $100 million a season – and who has made noises about leaving.

[From People]

The National Enquirer is reporting this week that judge Paula Abdul wants to double her salary to $20 million a year. They also say she’s “been talking to CBS Paramount Network Television about developing her own show.”

Paula also has a Las Vegas music and dance revue in the works “that Paula would create, choreograph and appear in occasionally.” Supposedly the Venetian and The Encore hotels are “in a bidding war over it.”

Now that we know that Ryan is getting $15 million a year, maybe Paula will get a raise too. They may have tried to edge her out with new judge Kara, but no one is as well liked as Paula and Kara kind of fell flat to many fans. Randy “yo dog, I repeat what Simon says in my poor approximation of slang” can get lost, though, as far as I’m concerned.

Ryan is shown on 7/11 and 4/5/09. Credit: PRPhotos