Clemson recently made Dabo Swinney the highest-paid coach in college football, an honor that is very well deserved. But there was one particular part about his new contract that received additional attention: the Alabama clause.
According to Swinney, Clemson asked to put in a clause that would make it more expensive for him to leave Clemson specifically to take the Alabama job. The coach says the clause doesn’t bother him.
“That’s something they presented when they presented the offer, and I didn’t have a problem with it,” Swinney told ESPN’s David M. Hale in an interview. “I think I’m one of the few coaches — they said, OK, here’s [your] market, and that was what they looked at doing the contract. I think I’m one of the few with a buyout.”
ESPN says Swinney’s 10-year, $93 million contract calls for a buyout of $4 million through 2020, $3 million from 2021-22, $2 million from 2023-25 and $1 million beyond that. That buyout figure increases by 50 percent if Swinney leaves for Alabama.
Clemson isn’t stupid; they know Swinney is from Alabama, played there and coached there. They’ve heard the talk that Swinney is the only coach around who could replace Saban at Alabama and keep that program at the level where it’s been. Swinney isn’t shy about saying how much he loves Bama.
Bama may have a greater history of success than Clemson, but Swinney has the Tigers at an equal level as Alabama. Why would he need to leave? He might not have to, but Clemson wants some protection just in case.
H/T The Spun
