Chris Matthews told his Hardball staff he won't run for a Pennsylvania senate seat in 2010, which means he'll probably remain at MSNBC. But will he be a sad poor, anchorwise?

Matthews had been staring down the barrel of a rumored 4/5ths pay cut. But his ratings have improved since then!

“Hardball” has bounced back in the ratings, especially during the presidential election season, and NBC News executives have expressed much more interest in retaining Mr. Matthews.

So Matthews will get to keep more of his current salary, but still make way less than Keith Olberman, who will continue to taunt him, eternally.

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