This is something that a lot of people don't talk about because I don't think a lot of people know about. Barry Odom's buyout is 2.25 million dollars. It's the equivalent of 450K per year. He gets paid 3 million, but the base salary is 450K per year.
The way Missouri structures contracts, that is the base salary. The remaining 2.55 million dollars on Odom's deal is tied to apparel deals, radio and TV appearances, a bunch of other things that give him a $3.05 million guarantee.
Here's why that's an issue: Odom falls between Dana Dimel at UTEP and Scott Loeffler at Bowling Green in terms of buyout. According to USA Today, the only Power Five coach with a lower buyout (there are some schools they could not obtain that information for) is Tom Allen at $1.5 million at Indiana and Joe Moorhead at Mississippi State at 2 million.
Here are the other SEC buyouts, according to USA Today's database:
Jimbo Fisher: 60.625 million
Nick Saban: 34.1 million
Gus Malzahn: 27.05 million
Kirby Smart: 24.24 million
Mark Stoops: 22.7 million
Will Muschamp: 19.43 million
Chad Morris: 12.5 million (about to be paid)
Dan Mullen: 12 million
Jeremy Pruitt: 9.5 million
Ed Orgeron: 7.75 million
Matt Luke: 6.5 million
Joe Moorhead: 2 million
Information is not publicly available for Derek Mason. I read somewhere it was 9 million dollars, but I do not know for sure if that is accurate.
So why is this a big deal? When you take a new job, no matter what business you are in, you look at the best case scenario of what you could make. But if you're smart, you also look at the worst case scenario. You don't think it's going to happen, but you have to consider, what if my boss gets fired and the new guy hates me and I get fired? You have to protect yourself.
At least 11 coaches in the SEC (and 12 if the number on Mason is accurate) would get paid at least 6.5 million dollars TO SIMPLY GO AWAY. That's not true at Missouri. Missouri has never structured a football coach's contract that way. I know it was a stumbling point when Gary Pinkel negotiated extensions. He stayed, but it was definitely a point of contention.
So let's say Missouri does what a lot of people want and fires Odom. They're going to have to hire a new coach. And a new coach is going to know that 11 or 12 of the other 13 schools in Missouri's conference are fully guaranteeing contracts or at least a big portion of them. They're going to know that more than half of the league's have a guarantee of at least $10 million if they were to get fired. Is a coach going to agree to a deal where that buyout is $3 million or less? The other factor here is that Jimmy Sexton is Barry Odom's agent. He is also the agent for every other coach in the SEC and a good number of coaches across the country. He ain't gonna do Missouri any favors.
My point is, if Missouri were to fire Odom, I don't think there's going to be an ability to hire another coach that's going to satisfy many of you unless Missouri changes the way it structures contracts. Now, that is possible. They did it for Cuonzo Martin. Martin cannot be fired without cause (i.e. you can't fire him for not winning enough) until after next season. If he is fired after next season, he is guaranteed $6 million. That number would drop to $3 million after the 2021-22 season and $1 million after 2022-23 (assuming there hasn't been an extension, which there almost certainly would be if he were still the coach at that point).
Point being, the truth of the matter is that Barry Odom is on a very "club friendly contract" as they would term it in professional sports. If Mizzou wants to hire another coach, they're going to have to agree to a much more "player friendly contract" that will guarantee a lot more money. I'm not saying it has to be a $25 million dollar guarantee...but it's got to be a whole lot more than it is right now.
The way Missouri structures contracts, that is the base salary. The remaining 2.55 million dollars on Odom's deal is tied to apparel deals, radio and TV appearances, a bunch of other things that give him a $3.05 million guarantee.
Here's why that's an issue: Odom falls between Dana Dimel at UTEP and Scott Loeffler at Bowling Green in terms of buyout. According to USA Today, the only Power Five coach with a lower buyout (there are some schools they could not obtain that information for) is Tom Allen at $1.5 million at Indiana and Joe Moorhead at Mississippi State at 2 million.
Here are the other SEC buyouts, according to USA Today's database:
Jimbo Fisher: 60.625 million
Nick Saban: 34.1 million
Gus Malzahn: 27.05 million
Kirby Smart: 24.24 million
Mark Stoops: 22.7 million
Will Muschamp: 19.43 million
Chad Morris: 12.5 million (about to be paid)
Dan Mullen: 12 million
Jeremy Pruitt: 9.5 million
Ed Orgeron: 7.75 million
Matt Luke: 6.5 million
Joe Moorhead: 2 million
Information is not publicly available for Derek Mason. I read somewhere it was 9 million dollars, but I do not know for sure if that is accurate.
So why is this a big deal? When you take a new job, no matter what business you are in, you look at the best case scenario of what you could make. But if you're smart, you also look at the worst case scenario. You don't think it's going to happen, but you have to consider, what if my boss gets fired and the new guy hates me and I get fired? You have to protect yourself.
At least 11 coaches in the SEC (and 12 if the number on Mason is accurate) would get paid at least 6.5 million dollars TO SIMPLY GO AWAY. That's not true at Missouri. Missouri has never structured a football coach's contract that way. I know it was a stumbling point when Gary Pinkel negotiated extensions. He stayed, but it was definitely a point of contention.
So let's say Missouri does what a lot of people want and fires Odom. They're going to have to hire a new coach. And a new coach is going to know that 11 or 12 of the other 13 schools in Missouri's conference are fully guaranteeing contracts or at least a big portion of them. They're going to know that more than half of the league's have a guarantee of at least $10 million if they were to get fired. Is a coach going to agree to a deal where that buyout is $3 million or less? The other factor here is that Jimmy Sexton is Barry Odom's agent. He is also the agent for every other coach in the SEC and a good number of coaches across the country. He ain't gonna do Missouri any favors.
My point is, if Missouri were to fire Odom, I don't think there's going to be an ability to hire another coach that's going to satisfy many of you unless Missouri changes the way it structures contracts. Now, that is possible. They did it for Cuonzo Martin. Martin cannot be fired without cause (i.e. you can't fire him for not winning enough) until after next season. If he is fired after next season, he is guaranteed $6 million. That number would drop to $3 million after the 2021-22 season and $1 million after 2022-23 (assuming there hasn't been an extension, which there almost certainly would be if he were still the coach at that point).
Point being, the truth of the matter is that Barry Odom is on a very "club friendly contract" as they would term it in professional sports. If Mizzou wants to hire another coach, they're going to have to agree to a much more "player friendly contract" that will guarantee a lot more money. I'm not saying it has to be a $25 million dollar guarantee...but it's got to be a whole lot more than it is right now.
