Auburn released some details today surrounding the finer points of Gus Malzahn’s new seven-year, $49 million contract that he agreed to back in December.
Among the more interesting notes that 247 points out is that 75% of contract is guaranteed, meaning that if Auburn decides to fire him without cause, they would owe him 75% of the remaining contract value. 247 adds that Auburn would have to pay Malzahn 55% of that 30 days following his termination with the remainder split into annual payments over the next four years.
Gus Malzahn's new 7-yr, $49 million contract includes language that expressly makes a school buyout for firing him *not* subject to his duty to mitigate. New deal also substantially increases amount Malzahn would get if he's fired without cause.
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) February 6, 2018
Under new contract btwn Gus Malzahn and Auburn, if he is fired without cause on Dec. 1, 2018, he would be owed about $32.1 million, not subject to mitigation or offset. Using the prior buyout setup with new expiration date, the payout would have been about $13.6 million.
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) February 6, 2018
If he were to take another job before December 30, 2019 he would owe $7 million, and that number would decrease to $1 million after 2022.
Malzahn will make $6.7 million this year, with annual raises of $100,000 built in, and he’s scheduled to make $7.3 million in 2024. The bump is significant, considering Malzahn had been making about $4.7 million annually under his previous deal.
Of course, you’ll remember, this new deal got hammered out after Arkansas flirted with the idea of bringing Malzahn back home to the state where he built a powerhouse at Shiloh Christian (AR), before ultimately hiring Chad Morris away from SMU.
