Mel Tucker has notable buyout clause in new contract

Michigan State handed a huge new contract to Mel Tucker with the aim of fending off interest from other schools. It turns out that new deal may not actually make an enormous difference.

The terms of Tucker’s ten-year, $95 million deal went public on Monday. There was one particular portion of the contract that got a bit more attention. The terms of Tucker’s buyout are unchanged, and starts at a rather paltry $2.5 million. The buyout drops to just $1 million from 2024 onward.

Mel Tucker's new $95M, 10-year contract in hand. No new buyout terms in it. It's $2.5M before Jan. 15, 2022; $2M in 2023, $1.5M in 2024 and $1M in 2024 and beyond. (Initially read that $1M just as 2024, but the language is Tucker would owe that any time AFTER Jan. 16, 2024).

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 29, 2021

In other words, if another school does want to hire Tucker, the buyout will not be an issue. Michigan State appears to be gambling on the fact that the guaranteed money in the deal will trump all else, and that no other school would offer Tucker a better deal than the one he has now.

Tucker had been linked to the LSU job, and had even received some looks from NFL teams. The new deal seems to have put an end to all that, even though the buyout is more or less a non-factor.

Photo: Sep 3, 2021; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mel Tucker walks on the field during warmups before the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports