The buyout life is nice. It’s even better when it’s bigger than expected.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reports that the buyout former head coach Bret Bielema is owed by Arkansas has been negotiated to ring in at $11.8 million in order to cover the final three years of his contract.
That eight-figure sum is a little higher than reports that had the figure around $5.8 million should Bielema be fired. Per his contract terms however, the veteran coach would have been owed a full $15.4 million but both he and the Razorbacks agreed on a negotiated settlement, according to the report. The deal is expected to be finalized in the coming days.
In addition to their former head coach in Bielema, the school is also paying a multi-million dollar buyout to former athletic director Jeff Long.
With those two items of business out-of-the-way, Arkansas can now move forward with finding replacements for each. While reports had the school close to hiring Tulsa AD Derrick Gragg, it appears that was a tad premature and one of the front-runners for the position will actually interview for the job sometime next week. As for the coaching search, that is expected to pick up in the coming days following the SEC Championship Game.