Over the weekend, the New York Times highlighted Chipotle’s recent decision to print (very) short stories by famous writers on its paper cups and take-out bags. Called “Cultivating Thought,” the campaign is the brainchild of Brooklyn novelist Jonathan Safran Foer, who approached the fast-casual Mexican grill chain after visiting one of its establishments earlier this year. Toni Morrison and Malcolm Gladwell have signed on. So let’s ask what New York’s literary milieu have wondered about: How much is Chipotle paying?

The Times hints that it’s been a windfall—but even journalist Michael Lewis, otherwise known for exposing financial secrets, wouldn’t offer a specific dollar amount:

To entice these household-name authors, however, the company needed to fork over a chunk of Cheddar, and not just of the Jack variety. “It pays very well to write a Chipotle cup,” Michael Lewis, the author of “Moneyball,” said during an interview with Conan O'Brien on “Conan.”

We’re assuming Lewis and the other writers are bound by non-disclosure agreements. (Via email, a Chipotle spokesperson told us: “We can’t discuss budgets or costs associated with individual marketing programs.”) But maybe you’ve heard what kind of money Chipotle is throwing around.

If that’s you, send an email to trotter@gawker.com or comment on this post. The rest of you are encouraged to wildly speculate below.

Update (4:00 p.m.): A commenter claims the figure is $250,000. We are very skeptical.