might be cynical or.....

[JasonL]

you stern fans are a joke
500 million for a DJ, talk show host, fukin nuts, the priorities of this company and others to pay some lame talk show host 500 million over 5 years, thats why most of these idiot CEOs find themselves in dept, then what do they do, they close the doors, bankrupt shareholders and bail out of the plane with a golden parachute and a bag full of money.
To answer your ridiculous justification of Stern, fuk no he doesn't deserve or earn his 500 million, SIRIUS is crumbling from payouts like this, between his and Mel's salary, there isn't much left to go around, much less pay off dept.
Its the blind leading the blind in here, jesus.

[deewcom]

Nobody needs more than 100 million. Easy to generate 10 million a year and not have to work. Private jet, multiple houses, cars; private schools, the best universities for the kids. Things are out of whack.

Stern is responsible for millions of subs and ad revenue. Keep in mind that Stern came to SIRI before Mel did. Now Mel and Stern have a history at Mel's former company Infinity Broadcasting, but it was Joe Clayton that negotiated Stern's whopper contract. Maybe Mel could have got Stern for $250 million. Who knows?

It has been reported that Mel's business model assumes high-payed entertainers and budget cutting scrutiny everywhere else. So who knows how it would have turned out? It doesn't matter now. Stern's not going to give back the money.

I've got to say, its almost comical the way the stock tanks when good news is released. When are the principals going to work for their shareholders and complain to the SEC about this blatent manipulation?

[clueless]

1. Stern has more than paid for himself.
2. XM and terrestrial were also in negotiation so Sirius had to beat their offer. I highly doubt Sirius just threw 500mil out there without there being other close bids.
3. There are other Radio hosts out there that make hundreds of millions of dollars per year so this is not unheard of. Why? Because they bring in hundreds of millions in revenue.

I am a fan but I am also a realistic person. Do I think celebrities and athletes are paid too much money... yes.... BUT when the people who employ them are making even more isn't fair, fair? The people paying the outrageous contracts are not losing money in doing so. A-rod makes a lot of money... the guy who pays A-rod salary is making even more.

[Krypto1]

Mel Karazin paid those oh so wonderful top bracket tax rates on most of the 18M that he has been paid by SIRI. His stock purchases are made with after tax dollars. He is in for WAY more than 3 million of his own money after effectively working for free since he joined. My guess is that he will do more buying before the storm passes. As shareholders we are actually very lucky that he is in charge... he knows radio better than any man alive and he actually has the money, balls, and connections that will be needed to realize the potential that he is marching twords. Most of us here are just like Mel in the fact that we are down. He hates this situation more than we do and he will get the company past the fear and dread that has soaked thru our economy. Making Sirius/XM a profitable household name is probably the last big challenge he will work on in his career, and my money says that he makes it work. If we are patient and work on our pain tolerence, most of us will make out well. I am still buying shares as we drop, and I still sleep at night. Great product with tons of untapped potential, just getting to break even... just the kind of story that will get hot again after the market gets done with the current panic attack. Any stock that can dive like this can also soar in short order. Times always change.