Ashlee Simpson refused to confirm or deny the pregnancy rumors that surfaced for her earlier this week- and for good reason spywitnesses for the New York Post say. Ashlee’s manager/dad Joe Simpson is trying to broker his baby girl a $1 million deal for Ashlee to possibly confirm her baby news on a forthcoming cover of a celebrity weekly.

“Joe is contacting all the weeklies and asking them to pony up $1 million to put Ashlee on the cover.”

“The deal would include photos of Ashlee – taken by Joe, of course, so he can make more money – an interview and photos of the baby when she has it,” says the Post insider.

And while Ashlee’s alleged pregnancy has sparked a new found interest in the youngest of the Simpson stars, an unidentified magazine editor tells the New York press that Ashlee is unlikely to snag a cool million for a cover story: “Joe has an unrealistic expectation of what Ashlee can command,” the editor states, “$60,000 maybe – but definitely not a million.”

“The timing is a little suspicious. Her album ['Bittersweet World'] is dropping next week, and there was little to no interest until now. Ashlee’s lucky she got pregnant, frankly.”