Report: Michigan's Rodriguez finally signs contract
Sports Network | October 24, 2008
Ann Arbor, MI (Sports Network) - Michigan Wolverines head football coach Rich Rodriguez reportedly signed a six-year contract with the school Friday that will pay him $2.5 million annually.
According to The Ann Arbor News, the contract includes a $300,000 base salary, $1.65 million in additional income and $550,000 in deferred compensation while also being eligible for a raise in base salary in each year of the contract. Rodriguez had been coaching the team to this point under a letter of intent.
The contract includes several clauses which address Rodriguez's departure from the university, either by his firing or leaving on his own. After leaving West Virginia University for Michigan in the offseason, Rodriguez became entangled in a contentious $4 million buyout of his contract, with Michigan eventually agreeing to pay $2.5 million of the money he owed.
If Michigan fires Rodriguez, he would be owed anywhere from $4 million to $1.5 million, depending on the timing. Should he leave on his own, the same buyout payments would apply to Rodriguez.
Things have not gone well thus far in Rodriguez's first season with the Wolverines (2-5, 1-2 Big Ten), whose 2008 campaign includes a sobering 13-10 loss to Toledo in Ann Arbor.
