Scarbo article on Gene's buyout.

[AUTiger1]

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2012/10/gene_chiziks_auburn_buyout_not.html#incart_more_sports

Gene Chizik's Auburn buyout not as steep as you might think
Kevin Scarbinsky | kscarbinsky@al.com By Kevin Scarbinsky | kscarbinsky@al.com
on October 11, 2012 at 2:02 PM, updated October 11, 2012 at 2:03 PM



BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - It won't happen. Auburn won't fire Gene Chizik. Not this year.

Not even after the 1-4 start. Not even after the loss to John L. Smith. Not even if the Tigers free-fall to their worst season since 2008 or 1998 or 1980.

Why not?

Not with that massive buyout hanging over the school's head.

That's one school of thought.

Maybe, maybe not.

It helps to know the details of the reworked contract Chizik signed June 9, 2011, as a reward for winning the BCS Championship. It still seems awfully one-sided in Chizik's favor, but about that buyout.

It’s not as daunting as you might think.

A lot of people did scratch their heads at the buyout Auburn placed in Chizik’s 2011 contract when, even after the BCS title, it didn’t appear the rest of the college football world was beating a path to his door to steal him away from the Tigers. Chizik seemed glad to be at Auburn, and the feeling seemed mutual.

The buyout started at a whopping $10 million, but only if Auburn would fire Chizik "without cause." In the bizarro world of coaching contracts, without cause means for losing games, which Auburn has done nine times in 18 starts since winning the national title. "For cause" would mean for something like breaking NCAA rules.

As is standard, Chizik’s buyout decreases over time, but it decreases monthly. Here are the annual round figures for the buyout:

Dec. 1, 2011: $10 million.
Dec. 1, 2012: $7.5 million.
Dec. 1, 2013: $5 million.
Dec. 1, 2014: $3.5 million.

Those are just snapshots because the buyout decreases monthly on a prorated basis. According to the contract, this year and next year it drops by $208,334 a month.

Another standard of coaching contracts also applies here. Auburn would not owe Chizik a lump-sum payment it it fired him. The buyout would be paid “in equal monthly installments over the remaining duration of the agreement,” which ends Dec. 31, 2015.

Hypothetical: If Auburn fires Chizik on Dec. 1 of this year, the total buyout amount would be $7.5 million. That would mean a monthly payment to him of about $202,702.70 for 37 months through the end of his contract.

But that’s only if Chizik would be unable to find another job during that time. The contract requires him “to use reasonable efforts to obtain other employment and/or income from third parties.” This is standard coaching-contract language, too.

The contract says: “In the event coach obtains other employment after his termination or receives income from any other source (such as for work as an announcer or analyst, consultant, independent contractor, speaking engagement fees, income from writing a book or appearance fees) the amount earned or received by coach will be subtracted from the amount Auburn owes coach.”

It’s all but certain that Chizik would be able to get another job - coaches always do - so when he did, Auburn would owe him about $202,700 a month minus his monthly salary at his new place of employment.

At the moment, no Auburn official has said whether Chizik will return or not for the 2013 season. His team can end this discussion by winning some games, but when players publicly complain about a lack of leadership and the coach’s wife takes to Facebook to try to rally the fan base around the team, as Jonna Chizik has done, you know things are headed in the wrong direction.

If Auburn didn’t hit bottom in losing to Arkansas, if the Tigers live down to their embarrassing underdog status at Ole Miss and allow the Rebels to snap their own 16-game SEC losing streak, it’ll move the school’s decision-makers closer to a day when they’ll have to seriously consider letting Chizik go.

If that day comes this year, they’ll owe Chizik a lot of money. It’s just not as much as many people think.

Drop a civil comment below. Write Kevin at scarbinsky@gmail.com. Follow him at www.Twitter.com/KevinScarbinsky. Listen to him weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on the Smashmouth Radio Network on ESPN 973 The Zone.

[The Six]

Translation: It cost $200 grand to get a NC and it'll cost that per month for 37 months to get rid of Chizik this year.

[dallaswareagle]

Translation: It cost $200 grand to get a NC and it'll cost that per month for 37 months to get rid of Chizik this year.

Fuck this motherfucker in the ear.

It could cost more than that not too. 

[The Six]

It could cost more than that not too.

It might. I still doubt we'll know. I'm sure a couple assistants will get blown out once this abortive season is done. But I still think Chiz is safe as long as JJ is the man.