When Arkansas fired Bret Bielema on Nov. 24, 2017, literal seconds after the Razorbacks lost to Missouri to conclude a 4-8 season, the terms of his contract called for the school to pay him $11.8 million.
Bielema would not receive that in a lump sum, though. The terms of his contract stated he would be paid $320,833 a month, every month, through the end of 2017 and all of 2018, 2019 and 2020 -- on one condition. Bielema had to pursue gainful employment elsewhere.
Bielema joined the New England Patriots organization for the 2018 season as a consultant to head coach Bill Belichick. Arkansas continued paying Bielema's buyout through 2018, but stopped once the calendar flipped to 2019.
The coach has since been promoted to the Patriots' defensive line coach, but the school believes it is free from its contractual obligation to pay Bielema for the final two years of his contract, saving nearly $7.7 million in the process, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Bielema and his agent Neil Cornrich are fighting Arkansas on the matter, and the paper reports the matter could be headed to court. (FootballScoop reached out to Cornrich, who did not immediately return a message seeking comment. We will update this post when and if that changes.)
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.