Rumors continue to swirl about the cast of "Jersey Shore" driving a hard bargain for a second season with MTV. Despite having signed a two-year contract with the network, the cast has banded together to charge higher per-episode rates. When MTV doubled their price to $10K per episode and threatened to choose new cast members if the offer wasn't accepted, Ronnie and J-WOWW finally caved and signed on. The rest have yet to agree, however -- despite passing their deadline of Monday, January 25.

TMZ reports that MTV already has replacements lined up for those who drive too hard a bargain, but if this is the case, why hasn't the network had a firm hand about this? The network's obviously bluffing, is why. (In other news, this business of "replacements" spoils my idea of MTV doing a spinoff show about the Season 2 audition process.) Bottom line: MTV is obviously going to pay the Season 1 cast members whatever they want, and then Ronnie and J-WOWW will get pissed that they're getting paid less than the others, and there will be drama, and it will be hilarious.

I have a few questions, though: has Angelina been offered a chance for a comeback? What's up with Sammi and Ronnie, and when is Us Weekly doing a cover story on them?

Apparently, the most difficult bargainers are Pauly D and Mike "The Situation," who explained to Billy Bush that he's "trying to be a gentleman" about it (see video, above). This probably means he's trying to get MTV to pay for his gym membership, as well as an unlimited charge account at Ed Hardy, both of which seem like fairly reasonable requests.

Vinny is still holding out as well, since he could always go to law school instead. The kid's gotta weigh his options, people! As for Snooki, she's been reportedly shopping around for offers on "Snookin' For Love," a spinoff about her dating misadventures (which got a shameless plug during the "Jersey Shore" finale), but whether she would have to ditch Seaside Heights for her own gig remains to be seen.

While $10K per episode may sound hefty, let's recall that "The Hills" kids reportedly get at least seven times that amount, are vastly less entertaining, and get lower ratings. This seems like an easy choice: cough it up, MTV.