Conan O'Brien Scores $32.5 Mil from NBC

Conan O'Brien is losing "The Tonight Show" but he'll be getting a $32.5 million consolation prize courtesy of NBC ...

According to TMZ, Conan has agreed to sit on the bench until September. Basically -- he can't host another show until the fall.

In addition to the $32.5 mil, NBC is also paying severance to Conan's "Tonight Show" employees. In all, NBC's payout is around $40 million (according to sources).

But Conan probably won't see close to the $32.5 mil. Under the deal, any money Conan makes during the remaining contract period with NBC will offset the network's obligation. So, if Fox were to make a deal with Conan and pay him $25 mil during the NBC contract period, Conan would only score $7.5 mil from NBC.

One well-placed NBC source told us something surprising -- looks like NBC may keep its intellectual property rights. So Conan can't take his creations -- such as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and the Masturbating Bear -- to his next gig.

TMZ also saidthe Conan/NBC deal still isn't completely done, but it's very close.