Will Muschamp agrees to $13M buyout settlement with South Carolina
Will Muschamp received most of his buyout from South Carolina.
The former Gamecocks coach has settled with the school after his midseason firing. Muschamp was set to be paid $15.3 million after his firing but school documents show that he agreed to a lump sum payment of $12.9 million.
That settlement figure was paid before the end of the 2020 season, meaning Muschamp made the most money in the year 2020 of any college football coach in the country. Alabama coach Nick Saban was the highest-paid coach in the country this season with a salary of $9 million.
Fired Auburn coach Gus Malzahn’s buyout was over $20 million. But he wasn’t set to receive all of that money in 2020. He was owed half of it within 30 days of his firing and the rest in installments over the coming years.
According to The State, Muschamp did have to agree to certain terms as part of the settlement.
As part of the settlement, both sides have now fully released each other from all claims and promised not to sue each other. Muschamp also agreed that he will not “actively recruit or encourage” any current student-athletes at South Carolina to enter the transfer portal or transfer to another school, “through direct or indirect communication.”
Will Muschamp was 28-30 at South Carolina
It pays well to be a fired college football coach. Unless you’re Jeremy Pruitt. Tennessee fired Pruitt for cause earlier this week amid an investigation into NCAA violations. Since the school said it’s firing Pruitt for cause it says it doesn’t have to pay his massive (over $12 million) buyout. Pruitt, as you can imagine, has retained lawyers and is challenging Tennessee’s assertion.
Muschamp was fired seven games into the 2020 season as South Carolina was 2-5. The Gamecocks finished the season at 2-8 after going 0-3 in the final three games of the season under interim coach Mike Bobo. USC then hired Oklahoma assistant Shane Beamer — the son of former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer — after the conclusion of the season.
Muschamp finished two games under .500 in his South Carolina tenure and the Gamecocks went 17-22 in the SEC in his four-plus seasons. USC went 9-4 in Muschamp’s second season with the team but never won more than seven games again under his watch.
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