The $26-Million-Plus Man: New University of Texas Football Coach To Get $5.25M In First Year....

AUSTIN, TX — Call him the $25 million man, and then some.

In a rare Saturday afternoon meeting, the UT System Board of Regents approved a five-year contract for the Longhorns' new football coach Tom Herman: $5.25 million for next season, with the base salary increasing by a quarter million dollars annually, according to a published report.

The structuring of the contract is similar to the one for fired coach Charlie Strong, except for a slightly higher base salary, reports the blog hookem.com, a unit of the Austin American-Statesman. The contract tops out at $6.25 million for the 2021 season.

Should Herman himself be fired, hel' get $5 million for every year remaining on his deal, according to the website.

UT President explained the reason for the quick signing, just days after it was announced that Herman would be the 30th coach for the university's football program: "Well, we've got a great coach," he said. "Once we make the decision, I like to get things done."

Formerly at the University of Houston, Herman replaces the fired Strong whose posted a 16-21 record over his three-year stint — the lowest winning percentage (.432) of any coach in University of Texas football history. By contrast, Herman is 22-4 in his sole two seasons as head coach, both spent in Houston.

The website noted in its report that the contract includes clauses meant to protect the university financially. For example, the contract has a hefty buyout provision — the first time such a feature has been included in an athletic contract at the university. In the event Herman should leave UT, he would owe the university $3 million for each year remaining on his contract in addition to the total compensation due to his assistants.

Herman's already on the hook for $2.5 million he owes Houston for having left the program there, the website reported. Fenves confirmed UT officials are in talks with the University of Houston to satisfy the terms of that buyout.

The contract also has a retention bonus, meaning that Herman would receive a cool $1 million is he's still coaching at Texas by Dec. 25, 2019.

>>> Read the full story at Hookem.com

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