Katy Perry could be on course to take home as much as a staggering $30m (£24m) for returning to American Idol in the next year.Executives at US TV station ABC are reportedly thrashing out a deal to keep Perry on the judging panel as well as raises for her fellow stars and host Ryan Seacrest.The negotiations could see talent pay soar over $80m (£63m) for the series.Perry is also being honoured with a Key to the Vegas Strip for her astonishing success in just SIX months with her Resorts World music residency.Insiders say that "verbally" Perry has agreed to return for the prime time show, which just ended at the weekend. Her whopping potential deal comes after she described her role on the show as a "by-product" of the important aspect of finding talent.However, behind the scenes, her agent is "working out the figures and pay package" which would keep her as the highest-paid reality screen star in the USA.Well placed sources say Lionel Richie is heading for around the $15m (£11m) mark while Luke Bryan is in the $18m (£14m) bracket and Seacrest is on course for near to $17.5m (£13m) - as part of his ongoing deal with ABC.Katy's previous salary was reported to be around $25m.Daily Star has approached ABC for comment.While the sums seem "enormous", Idol remains a rating juggernaut and "cash cow" for the network across primetime, online and in foreign sales deals.The recent finale, won by Noah Thompson, drew around 6m fans but importantly delivered a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 audience demo.A source, who works as a consultant for the show, said: "They want Katy back, she wants to return, so it"s now about getting the deal done.
