Could USC afford to buy out Muschamp’s contract? University board is split
Even if USC wants to replace Will Muschamp as head football coach this year, the school may not be able to afford the $19 million buyout in his contract, several trustees told The State.
“I personally don’t think the university can buy out a contract such as his,” said Trustee Egerton Burroughs. “My job right now is to keep tuition down and hopefully reduce tuition.”
To be clear, none of the six trustees who spoke to The State on the record would say whether Muschamp should be fired. Instead, they said that decision should be made by either Athletic Director Ray Tanner or President Robert Caslen.
USC board Chair John Von Lehe thinks USC could afford to pay Muschamp’s buyout should Tanner recommend his firing.
“We could afford to get a new coach if Ray (Tanner) thinks that’s the right move,” Von Lehe said. However, “a sum of $18.5 million is not taken lightly,” Von Lehe said.
Von Lehe noted that other Southeastern Conference coaches also have a buyout “in this range.” Tanner told The State for a previous article that Muschamp’s buyout is similar to other SEC schools.
Speculation on whether Muschamp would be coaching the Gamecocks next year grew after the team’s 20-15 loss to Appalachian State of the Sun Belt Conference on Saturday, dropping the Gamecocks’ season record to 4-6. Other losses have come against North Carolina, 24-20; Missouri, 34-14; and Tennessee, 41-21.
Despite those losses against games in which USC was favored, the Gamecocks topped the then No. 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs 20-17 in double-overtime.
“I’m very disappointed in this loss. I’m very disappointed in the whole season,” said Trustee Eddie Floyd. Asked if the university could afford to pay Muschamp’s buyout, Floyd said, “I don’t think it’s impossible, but I think it’s unlikely that we could afford it.”
Hall of Fame USC football player and Trustee Chuck Allen said the multi-million dollar buyout is “a byproduct of exorbitant coaches salaries which exist in today’s market. They are problematic.”
Having such a high buyout could be a lesson for the board of trustees in future athletic hires, said Trustee Charles Williams.
“If I had to do it over again I would never have a buyout like this again,” said Williams, who agreed with Burroughs that USC can’t afford to buy out Muschamp.
USC would pay Muschamp’s buyout over the life of the contract, which runs through the end of 2024. Tanner, USC’s athletic director, said a payout such as Muschamp’s would be mitigated somewhat if he were fired and found another job. The amount Muschamp is paid at his new job would be deducted from USC’s payout.
The payouts would come in monthly installments. Assuming the contract is not renegotiated, this is what South Carolina would owe Muschamp each year, were he fired.
- Dec. 2019: $275,000
- Jan. 1, 2020-Dec. 31, 2020: $3.45 million
- Jan. 1, 2021-Dec. 31, 2021: $3.6 million
- Jan. 1, 2022-Dec. 31, 2022: $3.75 million
- Jan. 1, 2023-Dec. 31, 2023: $3.9 million
- Jan. 1, 2024-Dec. 31, 2024: 4.05 million
On the surface, it may seem like USC is sitting on enormous amounts of money. USC has a $1.6 billion budget; the board of trustees recently approved borrowing $240 million to build an 1,800-bed campus dorm complex facility, and in one day this spring, USC raised more than $4 million, according to previous articles from The State and USC’s website.
However, most of that money is already earmarked for other expenses such as teacher salaries, scholarships, research, new buildings, maintenance, student services and more, according to the school’s 2018-2019 budget.
This story was originally published November 11, 2019 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Could USC afford to buy out Muschamp’s contract? University board is split."