A school swooping in to hire away the head coach of another program typically means that they're willing to pick up a good portion of the buyout owed under that head coach's contract.
That's what we've become accustomed to seeing during the coaching change cycle the past several seasons.
However, that's not what is happening between Mountain West adversaries Colorado State and Nevada after the Rams lured Jay Norvell to Fort Collins this past coaching cycle.
Norvell's buyout at Nevada was about $2 million, and the Fort Collins Coloradoan shared today that Colorado State paid that, and Norvell will repay $1.3 million of that through a promissory note throughout the length of his contract with the school.
Colorado State is paying Nevada the remaining $600k of the buyout.
Norvell signed a five-year deal worth $1.6 million annually in Fort Collins, with salary increases of $100k annually each of the next four seasons.
The report adds that Norvell can use bonus money he's earned under his contract to pay back the buyout owed instead of cash payments.
Let's not forget that the Rams are also on the hook for a $3 million buyout to former head coach Steve Addazio, who was fired after two seasons and landed at Texas A&M as their offensive line coach. That is subject to offset based on what the Aggies will pay Addazio, per his deal.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.