Britney Spears is allegedly in the final stages of negotiating the contract to put her feet under the US X Factor judging table.
Hollywood Life's "excellent source" claims that Simon has agreed to meet Britney's $20m demands in the middle between his initial offer of $10m with a rumoured $12m-15m deal. That arrangement will be subject to review based on ratings for FOX's second outing for The X Factor.
Spears is also hoping to bargain a one-year exit clause into her contract in case she doesn't really fancy carrying on after her first series.
This so-called source said: "Simon Cowell wants at least a two-year commitment and Britney wants an out clause if she doesn’t want to continue after one year of service."