An absurd-sounding story by The Wrap‘s Sharon Waxman and Amy Kaufman appeared early this afternoon, claiming that Nikki Finke was paid $14 million for Deadline Hollywood Daily. If this turns out to be real (or even two-thirds or one-half real), the person who approved the deal would have to be called an idiot.

If I was a prospective buyer I would think twice about paying Finke $1.4 million for her site. If Finke ever leaves her house (I’ve heard she rarely does this) and gets hit by a car like Shelley Winters in Lolita, DHD would be worth absolutely nothing — zilch.

Waxman/Kaufman have written that a knowledgeable source said the $14 million “would be paid out over several years” and that “normally such deals are tied to traffic or to revenue projections…nonetheless, it is an exceedingly high price for a relatively small website.”