ContractsProf Weblog

It’s a must to be a unprecedented individual to be an elite faculty soccer coach.  You have to be unusually savvy about contracts.  That have to be true, as a result of I do know so much about contracts however I am unable to make any sense of the motivation buildings within the contract of former Nebraska head coach Scott Frost (proper).  Andrew Doughty of BetMGM has the numbers right here.

Coach Frost had a unprecedented second season, main the College of Central Florida to an undefeated marketing campaign and defeating Auburn within the Peach Bowl.  Nebraska paid $3 million to purchase out his contract after which agreed to a seven yr, $35 million contract with Coach Frost.  Two dismal years in, the contract was prolonged by way of 2026.  After two extra dismal years, Nebraska and Coach Frost renegotiated his contract, decreasing his annual wage to a miserly $4 million/yr.  The buyout construction is sophisticated, however in the long run, Coach Frost is entitled to a $15 million buyout.  If the crew had waited till October to purchase him out, it might have owed solely $7.5 million.  

You may assume that Nebraska will not be actually out that $15 million as a result of Coach Frost has an obligation to mitigate.  Besides that I appear to recall studying someplace in  Victor Goldberg‘s  Rethinking Contract Legislation and Contract Design that coaches’ contracts typically specify that there is no such thing as a obligation to mitigate [if someone can find the cite or knows from some other source, please chime in].  Furthermore, Coach Frost’s document at Nebraska was 16-31 total, 10-26 in opposition to convention opponents, and the crew was winless in opposition to ranked groups.  When Nebraska landed Coach Frost, he was essentially the most sought-after younger coach in faculty soccer.  Now, he is asking Kramer’s query after a chronic cigar binge:

Why, you may ask, did Nebraska not wait till October?  Some sportswriters speculate that the timing was dictated by an upcoming sport in opposition to the Oklahoma Sooners.  Nebraska’s athletic director didn’t wish to see his crew humiliated by the crew he performed for.  One would assume that even rabid Nebraska soccer followers wouldn’t assume that motivation justified a $7.5 million price ticket.  However there are different causes that will absolutely cross a business-judgment-rule kind sniff check.  It appears there are benefits to being the primary within the pool in terms of selecting a brand new head coach.

Has Nebraska realized its lesson?  Coach Frost’s resume exhibits that previous efficiency is not any assure of future success.