The silence on blogger compensation, plus the fact that many of them quit decent jobs or didn't look for jobs out of college leads me to believe the compensation is pretty lucrative. Keep in mind they can plow some of their earnings back into advertising to bring more traffic to their site.
The real indicator is the fact that the most senior, useful blogger finally put up the links too. If a guy who already has a good job and side business is wowed by the affiliate compensation, it's gotta be a lot.
I don't mean this to be a criticism. I'm happy they exist, and happy for them to be making money at it. Maybe a little jealous I guess. Everyone who wastes time on FT or MP probably wishes they could be getting paid for it.