Allen has options to buy up to 9.4m of shares in the broadcaster as a condition of his contract, which at the current trading price of 100p per share would net him £9.4m.
Most of Allen's stock options will pay out the moment he leaves ITV, but around a third will not mature until next year.
Allen, who was paid a £1.8m salary by the broadcaster last year, is understood to be in negotiation with ITV to exit from the company in January next year, giving the broadcaster time to find a replacement. However, reports last week suggested he could go much sooner.
Names already touted as a possible replacement include Greg Dyke, the former BBC director-general and managing director of LWT, who failed in a £1.3bn bid for ITV, backed by investment bank Goldman Sachs, Apax and Blackstone, in March this year.
ITV has come under fire for falling stock prices and plummeting ratings for key programmes in its summer schedules, including 'Soccer Aid' and current reality programme 'Love Island'.
Other potential candidates for the ITV job include: former Ofcom chief executive Stephen Carter; Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan; Sky programming boss Dawn Airey; and former chief executive of Capital Radio, and former ITV man, David Mansfield.
Last month, Lord Hollick, the former chief executive of United Business Media, was reported to have renewed his interest in bidding for ITV through private equity company KKR.
This morning, ITV stock was trading at the psychologically important 100p level. During Allen's two-and-a-half year tender as chief executive, more than 20% has been wiped off ITV's share price.
Former Carlton boss Michael Green walked away from the merger between Carlton and Granada in January 2004 with a £15m pay-off.
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