It's Enough Money To Buy The Damn State

The Jihad is over:

Rodriguez, the University of Michigan football coach since December, has reached a settlement to pay the $4 million liquidated damages clause, commonly referred to as a buyout, for leaving West Virginia to take the U-M job.

My suspicion throughout all of this was that Rodriguez would have preferred to settle quickly and move on with life, but the guys on the hook for most of the buyout -- Michigan -- wanted to whittle down the amount they had to pay and the John Beilein precedent was encouraging. This appears to be a plausible scenario:

Rodriguez is expected to pay $1.5 million spread over three years, beginning in 2010. U-M is expected to pay the balance of the sum, $2.5 million, immediately and cover Rodriguez's legal fees later, two people with knowledge of the agreement told the Free Press this morning.

Hurrah, who cares, let's play football.

Update: Further evidence Rodriguez was probably not the one who wanted to lawsuit it up:

The agreement spells out how much Rodriguez will pay and how much will be paid on his behalf. The former WVU coach apparently had a deal with Michigan right from the start of his employment there to pay all or part of the tab.

Reports are that possible depositions of Bill Martin and Mary Sue Coleman were sticking points -- sounds like the U said "screw it, it's chump change" and settled. (Via Bastard Sons.)