LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- When Kentucky football made the decision to part ways with head coach Mark Stoops, it knew the cost would be high.
As the third-largest coaching buyout in college football history — $37.7 million — it might even have proved unworkable for the university. But Stoops himself came to an agreement with UK officials that helped secure a deal far less damaging to Kentucky's budget than the original terms of his contract required.
Under the deal Stoops signed in 2022, he was owed 75% of his remaining salary in a lump sum within 60 days of termination without cause. At the time of his firing following a season-ending 41-0 loss to Louisville, that meant UK coming up with nearly $38 million in two months, which would be no simple proposition for any organization.
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Instead, Stoops and UK agreed to a more flexible plan: a $3.94 million payment within 15 days, followed by $6.75 million annually through April 2031. Those payments will be made in quarterly installments on July 1, Oct. 1, Jan. 1 and April 1 each year.
"Mark was great," UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart said. "We worked our way through. He's a good man."
No strings attached
Unlike many coaching agreements, Stoops' severance isn't subject to mitigation, meaning he'll receive the full payout regardless of whether he takes another job. According to the agreement, both Stoops and UK also agreed to mutual legal releases and non-disparagement clauses. He will be required to cooperate with any future NCAA or university investigations, with related expenses covered by the school.
Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart speaks at the introduction of Will Stein as new head football coach.
While some high-profile buyouts can shrink if a fired coach lands another position — as was the case with James Franklin's $49 million Penn State buyout that dropped to $9 million after he took the Virginia Tech job — Stoops' agreement locks in full payment.
A history-making price
Even with the restructured terms, Stoops' buyout ranks among the largest in college football history — behind only Texas A&M's $76.8 million payment to Jimbo Fisher in 2023 and LSU's $53.8 million owed to Brian Kelly earlier this year (which also could decrease based on offsets).
Kentucky's decision to make a change after back-to-back disappointing seasons came with pressure, not just from fans, but from the financial implications of Stoops' contract language, which dated back to an extension signed in 2017 and revised multiple times.
That's part of what made the negotiation so critical.
"Don't ever walk out of here thinking that I don't have unbelievable respect for Mark Stoops and what he did here," Barnhart told reporters after Will Stein's introductory news conference as coach. "He changed the expectations for what we're doing here."
Stoops coached Kentucky for 13 seasons, won 73 games, and led the Wildcats to eight straight bowl appearances. He also helped usher in facility upgrades and laid the foundation for higher expectations in Lexington.
But those expectations — paired with the SEC's evolving arms race — eventually became the measuring stick.
"You don't get a lot of happy endings where you get to walk off into the sunset and get to call it the way you want to call it," Barnhart said. "You don't get that. Many times, it ends in a head-down walk through the tunnel to find your family hanging out for you by yourself. It's hard. Really hard. So, I want to focus on the eight years that he gave us in that middle stretch when we went to eight straight bowl games."
Stoops, in a farewell message posted to social media, echoed that sentiment.
"To all my former players, coaches, staffers and the Big Blue Nation, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Coaching at Kentucky the last 13 years has been one of the greatest honors of my life. … Kentucky has become my home, and I'll be forever grateful to have been your head coach."
Meanwhile, Kentucky has structured Stein's buyout differently. If Stein is fired, he'll be due 70 percent of his remaining contract, payable in monthly installments through the remaining term of the 5-year, $28.5 million deal.
Still, the world of buyouts leaves Kentucky in a strange (and expensive position). It will pay Stein a base salary of $5.5 million to coach the team next year, and it will pay Stoops $6.75 million not to coach it.
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