NBC News -- We Didn't Offer Casey Anthony A Red Cent

NBC News tells TMZ ... it did not offer Casey Anthony any money for an interview with her.

An NBC rep tells us, "NBC News has not and will not be in a bidding war for a Casey Anthony interview. No money has or will be offered, no licensing or other arrangements. If we were to conduct an interview it would be under our standards."

The rep confirms ... NBC did indeed foot the bill for Jose Baez' suite at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City last week. As we reported, Baez met with famed celeb lawyer Mark Geragos last Thursday in the hotel bar, discussing negotiating strategy and talking about the "big price tag" for the interview.

And sources connected with ABC insist there was indeed a bidding war between the networks.