Buzz's New Deal

[Goose]

AnotherMU---Are you certain MU would need to pay him for six years if he got booted? I would hope we are protected to certain degree on that part of a contract. I think I would roll the dice on him leaving before I promised $12 million.

[MUMac]

AnotherMU---Are you certain MU would need to pay him for six years if he got booted? I would hope we are protected to certain degree on that part of a contract. I think I would roll the dice on him leaving before I promised $12 million.

Not sure, but I thought the buyout cuts both ways.  It is the amount either party would have to pay to buy out the other.

Perhaps an attorney could chime in for the legalities of it?

[Tugg Speedman]

This is the way the current deal works (per an email conversation I had with Rosiak).  Whether the new deal contains the same provision, who knows.

The point, huge buyouts do not come for free.  If Buzz had a $3.8 million buyout the reason is (was?) we would owe him six years if we fired him.

As an aside, this is why I kept saying the Buzz thing was always about reporters talking to reporters and quoting each other.  They never bothered to ask what Buzz got in return for a huge buyout (and could not believe it was true).  What he got was a huge severance package.

[Tugg Speedman]

Not sure, but I thought the buyout cuts both ways.  It is the amount both parties would have to pay to buy out the other.

Perhaps an attorney could chime in for the legalities of it?

Buyouts do cut both way but don't have to be the same amount on each side.  Now if Buzz still wants a 6-year rollover then I imagine the buyout is going much much higher.

[Goose]

AnotherMU---$12 million if we tire of him vs. $3.8 million if he tires of us seems to be out of whack. Especially if the $12 million rolls over every year. not saying that the deal is not set up that way, just it seems awfully one sided.

[MUMac]

Buyouts do cut both way but don't have to be the same amount on each side.  Now if Buzz still wants a 6-year rollover then I imagine the buyout going much much higher.

That is true, but a buyout would not be for the full term salary, either.  

[Tugg Speedman]

AnotherMU---$12 million if we tire of him vs. $3.8 million if he tires of us seems to be out of whack. Especially if the $12 million rolls over every year. not saying that the deal is not set up that way, just it seems awfully one sided.

$3.8 is the buyout for the current contract.  $2 million a year is the number Goodman said for the new contract.  So we are comparing apples to oranges.  We don't know what other provisions (besides salary) will change in the new salary. Possibly because they have not yet been negotiated which is why it will take until Friday to finalize.  (Buzz may not have an agent but he better have a lawyer help him with the language, it would be irresponsible not too).

Also, notice how Goodman said he did not know if the contract included more years.  A roll-over contract is forever, cannot get longer than that.  I'm guessing Goodman doesn't know what this means.

[ChicosBailBonds]

A 6-year roll over contract means every year the contract is extended so it always has six years left.

Why?  If MU ever wants to fire him, we owe him six years of salary, regardless of the year.

So, while we are all happy that his contract has a huge buyout ($3.8 million), the trade-off is we owe him $12 million (6 years at $2 million a year) if we fire him.

Looks like Buzz is with us for a while.  The buyout and current salary makes him too expensive to hire and the six year rollover makes him too expense to fire.

Yes and no...there are ways around this, too.

These contracts have the ability for the coach to be "reassigned".  So what you do, if all of a sudden you realize you are stuck with a dud, is you reassign him to work the snack bar or field maintenance and suddenly both sides agree to a buyout that is considerably less than the $12Million you're talking about above.  They reach a separation settlement.  It's what we did with Dukiet and Deane.  It's also what schools do all the time to avoid paying all the years remaining on the contract if you truly wish to dump him.  Of course a good attorney \ agent will get that language in the contract either out of there or muted enough to do his client little harm.

[Avenue Commons]

I hope this is true about his buyout being $3.8 million.  That will really, really cushion the blow IF he leaves, and also make him unattractive to all but the big boys.  Good for the administration that they were able to negotiate a decent buyout.

I was told the buyout was "around $4 Million." $3.8 Million would be consistent with that.

[Tugg Speedman]

Correct.  

Buzz could be reassigned to the level 300 snow-cone machine.  Then MU would need his salary to pay another coach and Buzz would need his release to go find another basketball job.  A "deal" would follow soon after.

Let's not forget the larger point, if Buzz agreed to a huge buyout, it's because he getting a huge severance on the other side.  He didn't agree to a huge buyout just because he's a nice guy.

[Goose]

AnotherMU---Buzz has never done anything for money, so maybe he is just a nice guy!

[NCMUFan]

I would be surprised if the buyout remains at the reported $3.8M.  Buzz will likely want that taken down to give him flexibility if his "dream" job opens up.

I hope Crean is still dreaming in paradise.

[mr.MUskie]

Correct.  

Buzz could be reassigned to the level 300 snow-cone machine.  Then MU would need his salary to pay another coach and Buzz would need his release to go find another basketball job.  A "deal" would follow soon after.

I will agree to run the level 300 snow-cone machine for $12 mil.  Where do I sign up?

[Fullodds]

The buyout will remain high and reduce each year Buzz stays at MU. Very common. Crean's IU contract started with a $3M+ buyout and is now $2M.

[TJ]

The buyout will remain high and reduce each year Buzz stays at MU. Very common. Crean's IU contract started with a $3M+ buyout and is now $2M.

Things seem to be different with Buzz and his "rollover contract" though, so we really can't deduce anything for certain.  Crean's buyout is reducing because years on the contract are being used up.  Buzz seems to have a theoretically infinite contract going so who knows what the buy-out clauses on both sides look like...

[TJ]

Correct.  

Buzz could be reassigned to the level 300 snow-cone machine.  Then MU would need his salary to pay another coach and Buzz would need his release to go find another basketball job.  A "deal" would follow soon after.

Wouldn't it be awesome if a coach from some school called the bluff and accepted a very highly paid janitorial job from whoever reassigned him?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Wouldn't it be awesome if a coach from some school called the bluff and accepted a very highly paid janitorial job from whoever reassigned him?

It's actually happened.  Not a janitor job, but reassigned in the fund raising part of the university.  It happened a few years ago.  I need to find the article.

[Tugg Speedman]

It's actually happened.  Not a janitor job, but reassigned in the fund raising part of the university.  It happened a few years ago.  I need to find the article.

I think it happens a lot ... or at least it's credibly threatened and then a deal is made and this never becomes public.

[Badgerhater]

Buzz seems to have done pretty well negotiating for himself.  Gets to save that cut that would normally go to an agent.

[79Warrior]

I would be surprised if the buyout remains at the reported $3.8M.  Buzz will likely want that taken down to give him flexibility if his "dream" job opens up.

It can stay high. All Buzz has to do is have an escape clause for certain openings, Texas for example. The high buyout keeps the trols like OU away and allows Buzz to go for the 1 or 2 gigs that may qualify as "dream job".

[GOO]

If we are paying 2.0 to 2.2 million per year, I sure hope the buy out is big.  If he isn't willing to accept a high buy out, that would be a hugh red flag, in my opinion.  It can't be a one sided deal.  MU has been and kept ahead of the curve on paying Buzz, I hope he appreciates it.