One of the biggest talking points under former head coach Neal Brown circled around his buyout.
The extension granted last off-season lowered the total to just 75-percent of the remaining contract, but West Virginia will still owe $9.7 million through the term of the contract in 2027 for firing Brown. Granted that is over four fiscal years, but the number is one that has generated plenty of discussion.
“You spread that out a little bit and there was some methodology to that. Cash today is worth more than cash four years from now,” Athletic Director Wren Baker said.
But buyouts are a part of the process and are necessary with competition for candidates.
“It’s all relative to who your target is, and you have to be competitive so those agents when you get ready to talk to them about what you’re going to pay they’re going to show you all the salaries in your league, how much of it is guaranteed, what the incentive packages are and they’re going to say do you really want to send a message you’re not as committed as school x?” Baker said.
There’s a back and forth in the negotiating process when it comes to buyouts, but Baker believes that during his time in Morgantown he has done a good job on being fair and understanding the candidate’s perspective as well as the institution’s. That requires some back and forth when settling on the final number.
“People say well I wouldn’t guarantee X, well then you won’t get a very good candidate pool because other people in the marketplace will,” Baker said.
There are three other power four jobs open at the moment that are similar to West Virginia in North Carolina, UCF and Purdue and unless the administration wants to wait until those schools are done you have to be competitive.
Not to mention that if you undershoot the buyout and you bring somebody in that has success, it puts you far behind on the next deal with that head coach.
“And they remember. It’s just a little bit of trust, a little bit of trying to do the right thing and a little bit of what the market is dictating,” Baker said.
But part of the issue is that there are no surefire things in athletics and no guarantees. Schools must hire the candidate they deem best for the job with the information they have available.
But buyouts are certainly part of that.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
