The contract extension Georgia coach Mark Richt agreed to in the spring doesn't have his signature on it.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Richt didn't sign the extension the school offered him and is forfeiting his scheduled-to-be-higher annual salary as a result. However, the school will honor the contract even if Richt hasn't signed it, meaning the buyout under his new deal is bigger than in his old deal.
Nevertheless, UGA has vowed to honor the terms of the proposed agreement retroactively. That’s particularly beneficial to Richt in the event that he gets fired this year. It means he will be paid $2.5 million more than he would under his existing contract, for a total payout of $4.1 million. According to the current contract on file with the athletic association, he would be owed $1.6 million, or $800,000 per year remaining in the term.
“To me a handshake is an agreement and the board approved it. Everybody approved it,” Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity said Friday. “Just because somebody hasn’t signed it doesn’t mean we’re not going to honor it, if it ever reached that point.”
Per USA Today, McGarity "favored a coaching change" after 2014 though it didn't happen because of the wishes of the school's president. And instead of being replaced as Georgia's coach after 14 seasons, Richt was given a contract extension and a raise.
Following an ugly loss to Florida in Week 9 that dropped Georgia out of the SEC East title race, the coaching staff of the 5-3 Bulldogs has been subject to a lot of scrutiny. Richt even made a tweet Thursday afternoon that said defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt was the team's defensive coordinator and preparing for Saturday's game against Kentucky. Given Georgia's remaining schedule, the Bulldogs should finish the season 9-3.
Will Richt sign the new deal? His agent told the AJC the coach would "very soon." McGarity said the reason the coach hasn't signed the contract is because of changes in language in the new deal, not because of any monetary differences between the two parties.
The issue is on language that has changed from his original contract to this new contract, which adds new language that deals basically with conduct,” McGarity said. “It has nothing to do with buyouts. Even if the contract doesn’t get signed, we’d honor that. It has absolutely nothing to do with money or term or annual salary or compensation. It all has to deal with the terminology that has changed from his original contract.”
If Georgia loses a game over its remaining four, will the increased buyout be a factor in any decisions regarding the coaching staff? We'll find out over the next month.
For more Georgia news, visit UGASports.com.
- - - - - - -
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!