“Apple Senior Vice President Tony Fadell, the [so-called] father of the iPod and one of the driving forces behind the iPhone, could receive a payout valued at nearly $9 million (a $300,000 salary and 77,500 shares valued at $8.4 million) for acting as a senior advisor to Apple CEO Steve Jobs,” Steven Burke writes for CRN.

“The payout is part of a complicated settlement agreement that prevents Fadell from suing Apple or soliciting Apple employees for one year after he leaves the company,” Burke writes. “The agreement, which was disclosed in an Apple Securities and Exchange Commission filing, ties Fadell to Apple until March 24, 2010.”

Burke gives five reasons Apple agreed to the big payout to Fadell:

1. It Prevents Fadell From Bringing An iPod Killer To Market In Near Term
2. It Prevents A Messy, Drawn Out, Bitter Legal Battle
3. The Payout Keeps Fadell From Poaching Apple Developers
4. It Keeps Fadell Pushing Big Product Development Advances At Apple
5. It Keeps Steve Jobs At The Center Of The Apple Universe