Some Harbaugh contract details

Yes but no NFL will make an offer more then what MSU is paying Mel Tucker so the buyout isn’t relevant.

Does that indicate he gets another million in deferred compensation per season?

Usually buyouts are paid by the program/franchise that hires away a coach, not the coach themselves, because the program will agree to assume liability for the buyout when they hire the coach. And because the legal liability for the buyout is so clear-cut once a program assumes that liability, they pay it without fuss because why waste money on legal fees on a losing case.

NFL teams have so much money that no reasonable buyout was ever going to scare them away, but $3 million is especially paltry. It would have been nice to see a higher buyout if the true purpose is to send a message of stability.

If it’s for the recruits, then it’s a “commit to the school, not the coach” fair warning to them. That’s chump change to any potential NFL suitor. I’m wholly okay with it. I’m just curious what’s Warde’s take on it. Is he doing it kindly for Harbaugh or is he still unsure if Harbaugh’s the long-term answer? Since I’m uncertain myself, I’m actually pretty happy to see such a small buyout.

Buyouts definitely are not window dressing — at least, primarily. The contractual intent is to recoup the “damage” to the university if the coach breaches the contract by leaving early.  Buyouts are often paid outright by the acquiring party.  If the circumstances of the breach are not entirely clear (e.g., coach leaves for another position but contends he effectively was forced out), they are usually negotiated, and some lesser amount is paid.  They rarely result in litigation, but that’s simply because a deal is usually in place (either the original deal or a new deal in situations like my above example).

As far as what message any particular contractual provision sends, this is a matter of interpretation.  This relatively low buyout might in part have been a signal to Harbaugh that the university trusts him to keep his word.  That might have been important to him after last year’s difficult pay cut.  Recruits could view it in opposite ways — on one hand, a signal that Harbaugh could still be bought away, but on the other hand, a signal that he’s at Michigan because he and the university want him to be, not because he’s handcuffed by money.  

If he’s true to his word, this gesture might have meaning to him that will increase his bond to Michigan.  If he’s not, it might later seem like a mistake.  Personally, I’m inclined to take off my lawyer hat here and to view this in the most positive light.

I agree. No buyout clause is going to scare away any NFL team that is truly interested. 

Warde would also realize that Michigan still benefits in this scenario from a larger buyout. Buyouts aren’t just about deterring someone from taking your coach, it’s about getting an adequate return on them as well. 
 

The $2 million Michigan would get if Harbaugh leaves next year is $2 million towards the new staff (the head coach of which would likely have a buyout that UM would need to pay). That’s $2 million the AD doesn’t have to find in the budget and/or doesn’t need to ask donors to pay. That number being higher, puts the AD in a much stronger position if Harbaugh does indeed leave. 
 

For a school like Michigan, finding that extra money if needed isn’t as hard. But not all schools have that luxury, and that’s ultimately what buyouts help to cover and their general purpose. 

Exactly. If they want him and he wants to go, he is gone.

Yeah, the NFL is loving guys in their 30s and 40s right now. I think that plus Jim being out of the league for a number of years have made him 'stale' in the eyes of a lot of franchises, plus I imagine York and Baalke's smear campaign was somewhat successful in making lots of teams think Jim is too combatitive

I take Jim at his word too, but this is about optics at this point. According to media, he doesn’t want to be here. According to rival fans, he doesn’t want to be here. And you know damn well opposing coaches are going to hammer it home that he doesn’t want to be here to recruits. 
 

From that standpoint, this contract has done nothing to put those talking points to rest. So that’s something he and the staff are going to have to battle on the recruiting trail. 
 

It’s not about whether Warde or the fanbase believes him. There was a real opportunity here to really put the narrative to rest and stop the annual Harbaugh rumors. And they didn’t take that opportunity. 

fair enough...my point (which i didn't really make) is that in my opinion, the size of the buyout won't have much impact on harbaugh's future nfl prospects either way, even if it were ten times the new number.

i'm trying to think of a college-to-nfl jump that stalled out based on the size of a buyout.  heck - i'm old, and my memory ain't no good no more, but i can't remember reading too many articles where a college buyout was even mentioned.

I agree with you. I’m not worried about him looking for NFL jobs because I’m taking him on his word. But if that premise is sound, you’d think he might want a larger buyout to make recruiting easier. 

I completely agree with your comment.  If, as Harbaugh has stated, this was "the last time" he considers a move to an NFL, why not commit to that with an exorbitant buy out.  For example, professional soccer players in La Liga are required to have a release clause. Where the player doesn't have any interest in being released, the release clause will be set at something astronomical--Pedri recently signed an agreement with Barca having a 1 Billion Euro release clause.

Why not do something similar here? Presumably, UofM would want a high buyout clause.  Presumably, Harbaugh refused, which seriously calls into question his commitment not to explore NFL jobs--or at least other college coaching jobs.

I think recruiting has changed enough that whether a coach will be there for all four years doesn't matter as much to a recruit as it used to. Playing time and NIL money are probably bigger recruiting carrots than "Hey, who knows how long Coach X will be there?". Now with the transfer portal, I'm not sure recruits put too much weight into who the head coach is.

For the first time, I feel Michigan has young assistant coaches who can take over the program if the head guy leaves. If who the coach is matters to a recruit, I'd think stability in the assistant ranks is more important.