What would coach Bryan Harsin's buyout be if Auburn football fired him after 2022 season?

Bennett Durando, Montgomery Advertiser
·2 min read
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AUBURN — Bryan Harsin avoided getting fired in Auburn's internal investigation that ended Friday, and Auburn avoided having to pay its football coach a hefty buyout.

If the school had fired Harsin without cause, it would have owed the football coach $18.2 million — the largest buyout of this offseason's college football coaching carousel.

The school began weighing his future during an offseason that has included four assistant coach replacements, 19 outgoing transfers and a recruiting whiff on National Signing Day. Harsin has work to do.

What happens if Harsin is fired without cause after his second season? Will it significantly reduce the buyout cost?

The 2022 regular season ends when Auburn faces Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Nov. 26. It's an "even" year, so the schedule is tougher with road games against Alabama and Georgia. A fairly common window for a school to fire a coach would be between the end of the regular season and the end of the calendar year.

If Harsin was fired within that range, from Nov. 27 to Dec. 31, his buyout would be between $15 million and about $15.3 million, an amount that is guaranteed by his contract.

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Harsin and Auburn agreed to a six-year deal worth a total of $31.5 million, which went into effect Dec. 23, 2020. According to the terms, firing Harsin without cause means the university would owe him 70% of the remainder of his contract. Harsin made $5 million in his first year, a salary that was set to increase by $100,000 annually beginning Jan. 1 of this year.

He would be owed 50% of the buyout within 30 days. The other half is to be paid in four annual, equal increments.

The buyout cannot be offset by taking a job at another school, meaning Harsin would get every penny owed regardless of him taking employment elsewhere.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: If Auburn fires Bryan Harsin after 2022 season, what is his buyout?