NBC is eager to keep Savannah Guthrie after Hoda Kotb's departure

“Today” show star Savannah Guthrie has more than a year left on her current $7 million-a-year contract — and will remain at NBC’s Studio 1A for the foreseeable future, industry sources tell Page Six.

There were rumors that Guthrie's co-host Hoda Kotb Guthrie, 52, won the day last week by announcing her surprise exit.

“There were rumors that Savannah was planning her own exit strategy next year after the election, but Hoda has made that all but impossible,” a TV source told Page Six.

NBC officials suspected that Guthrie — who will lead the network's election night coverage next month — was paving the way for a future outside of WI with the release of her critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller “Mostly What God Does: Reflections on.” “Today paved the way for search and discovery,” it said back in February.

“Savannah has talked a lot about not wanting to wait too long on 'Today.' “I honestly read the book as a signal of what her life would be like after Today,” said a senior NBC official.

“My guess is that Hoda completely outsmarted them.”

A TV insider added: “Of course no one at NBC wants Savannah to go. I think if the bosses had their way, she would be here for life. She's the beating heart of Today – there's so much support for her.

“There are so few people who can dress up as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader for Halloween, interview the president and cover an important breaking news story.”

We're told Kotb, 60, gave a speech to the “Today” staff after emotionally breaking the news of her departure and that Guthrie followed her to “rally the troops.”

“We had a staff meeting right after the announcement. Hoda spoke and the bosses and then Savannah spoke and it was beautiful,” a “Today” source said. “(Guthrie) gave the 'Today' team the care they really needed in that moment.”

“Today” beat ABC rival “Good Morning America” in total viewers over the past two months and won in the key adults 25-54 news demo over the past eight years.

Puck News reported Friday that Kotb was making more than $20 million a year and decided to leave the network after NBC bosses suggested a pay cut. The outlet also reported that Guthrie makes more than $20 million per year.

However, a senior NBC source estimated that Guthrie and Kotb currently make around $7 million to $8 million per year. Before he left in 2017, disgraced “Today” anchor Matt Lauer had a deal worth an estimated $25 million a year.

“Matt Lauer made so much money, but when he left he also made so much,” the senior NBC source said.

As for who will succeed Kotb when she leaves the show next year, industry sources say the frontrunners are new “Today” anchor Craig Melvin, “Today” news anchor and NBC News Senior Legal Correspondent Laura Jarrett appears to be co-hosting the “Today” show on Saturday.

Jarrett is the daughter of Valerie Jarrett, who served as a senior adviser to President Barack Obama.

“The Today audience is politically right-of-center, so the question is whether viewers would welcome Valerie Jarrett's daughter in Hoda's seat,” the TV insider said.

However, multiple sources at NBC said there is no clear front-runner yet.

“Several people know they need to step up,” an NBC source said. “When a world crisis is looming, you have to be able to look up and trust the people you see on air.”