conan33mil.jpg NBC has finally confirmed that they have reached a $45 million deal for Conan O'Brien to leave The Tonight Show. Conan will receive $33 million of the sum, and the rest will go to show staff as severance pay.

Conan's manager, Gavin Polone released the following statement:
    "In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket. Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."


Conan's last show will be tomorrow night, and Jay Leno will take over the Tonight Show spot starting March 1. While we're sad to see Conan go, NBC told the Associated Press that he will be allowed to go back on air in September of 2010, so hopefully he'll strike a deal with Fox or another network. If not, $33 million isn't a bad consolation prize!