Multimillion
Bret Bielema
When Florida fired Jim McElwain as its football coach  his contract included a stipulation for a $13 million buyout. Because of the peculiar circumstances  the school will likely get by with a much lower figure  around $4 million. Butch Jones is out at Tennessee with a reported buyout of more than $6 million. If Texas A&M were to fire Kevin Sumlin  his buyout is reported at $11 million. Rumors are circulating that Arkansas will fire its head coach   Bret Bielema   at the end of the season with a buyout ranging from $4 to $6 million  depending on the timing.
These large sums generate a lot of head scratching and criticism. For  Bielema  and Jones  their buyouts would be roughly equivalent to a year's pay. For Sumlin  it would be about two years. For McElwain  at the original contracted amount  it approaches three years' worth. In Weis' case  well  it is several.
Of course  the size of the insurance matters. Many of these buyouts diminish through the life of the contract  which complicates comparisons between coaches and players. Had  Bielema  been let go after one year   his  buyout would have amounted to about one-half the total contract value. Now it would be less than half of  his  remaining contract and about one-fifth of the total contract value — figures that are not way out of line with what is seen among NFL players.
What doesn't make sense is giving a player or coach a big insurance policy when they aren't performing very well.  Bielema  received an extension and a new buyout clause coming off less-than-stellar seasons  when  his  market value to other schools would not have been great. The Weis buyout seemed to reflect that Notre Dame way overestimated Weis' value after a single season's improvement.
When Florida fired Jim McElwain as its football coach  his contract included a stipulation for a $13 million buyout. Because of the peculiar circumstances  the school will likely get by with a much lower figure  around $4 million. Butch Jones is out at Tennessee with a reported buyout of more than $6 million. If Texas A&M were to fire Kevin Sumlin  his buyout is reported at $11 million. Rumors are circulating that Arkansas will fire its head coach   [TGT]   at the end of the season with a buyout ranging from $4 to $6 million  depending on the timing.
These large sums generate a lot of head scratching and criticism. For  Bielema  and Jones  their buyouts would be roughly equivalent to a year's pay. For Sumlin  it would be about two years. For McElwain  at the original contracted amount  it approaches three years' worth. In Weis' case  well  it is several.
Of course  the size of the insurance matters. Many of these buyouts diminish through the life of the contract  which complicates comparisons between coaches and players. Had  Bielema  been let go after one year   his  buyout would have amounted to about one-half the total contract value. Now it would be less than half of  his  remaining contract and about one-fifth of the total contract value — figures that are not way out of line with what is seen among NFL players.
What doesn't make sense is giving a player or coach a big insurance policy when they aren't performing very well.  Bielema  received an extension and a new buyout clause coming off less-than-stellar seasons  when  his  market value to other schools would not have been great. The Weis buyout seemed to reflect that Notre Dame way overestimated Weis' value after a single season's improvement.