What’s next for Muschamp, Bobo buyouts? Ray Tanner shares an update
It’s been two months since South Carolina parted ways with football coach Will Muschamp. Now, negotiations between Muschamp and the school regarding his $15 million buyout “may be in a position of finality,” athletic director Ray Tanner told The State on Friday.
“I don’t want to speak out of turn, but there’s some conversations that have occurred, and they may be in a position of finality,” Tanner said at USC’s board of trustees meeting. “But, I would have to defer to our legal counsel to see if that is the case at this point. But as I said weeks ago, that there were conversations in negotiating a buyout different than the one that he had, and it could be close to stages of finality.”
The State has requested clarification on the state of those negotiations from the university’s legal department through a USC spokesperson.
Tanner has discussed negotiating Muschamp’s buyout for more than a month now. According to Muschamp’s contract, he is owed 75% of his salary for the life of the deal — the last signed amendment to the contract extended through 2024 at more than $20.6 million total, putting the 75% buyout at around $15.5 million.
However, Muschamp could agree to a smaller buyout paid in one lump sum, or annual payments on a shorter or longer timeline. He is not required to negotiate, according to the details of his contract signed by him and the university.
On the other hand, Tanner told The State on Friday that there are no plans to negotiate buyouts owed to South Carolina with any of the three assistant coaches who have recently left the Gamecocks.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and defensive line coach Tracy Rocker were both initially retained from Muschamp’s staff by new coach Shane Beamer before leaving to go to Auburn. They had new contracts approved by the board of trustees two weeks ago, but The State confirmed those new deals were never signed and therefore did not go into effect.
Under the terms of their old contracts, Bobo and Rocker owe South Carolina $100,000 and $50,000, respectively, for leaving early.
Offensive line coach Will Friend joined the staff as part of Beamer’s first round of hirings, and he did sign the term sheet of his contract approved by the board, The State confirmed. He will owe South Carolina $100,000 after leaving for Auburn as well.
South Carolina’s athletics department is expected to face a massive revenue shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic of up to $58 million, and salary and budget cuts have already been announced. Many athletic departments across the country could require loans to stay afloat financially throughout the pandemic.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 12:29 PM.
