Hey, When do You Think You’ll Have that $1.33 Million for Us…

Coach Rod, the new Michigan head coach, is being sued.

Who’s doing the suing? Why, none other than his former coaching assignment, West Virginia. According to Rich Rodriguez’s contact, the school is set to collect a $4 Million buyout over the next two years, since he left the program on his own accord.

Also according to the contract, one third of that total cost (or, over $1.33 Million – OUCH) is due 30 days after his resignation, which went into effect on December 19th. That means Coach Rod has until January 18 (give or take) to shell out that chunk of change.

By suing him before that 30-day grace period (gees, even some credit cards give you longer to come up with the money!), West Virginia is saying that they don’t think Coach Rod intends to honor his contract and pay out the money.

Really, he’s done nothing legally wrong…yet. Usually, you’d wait until AFTER the due date passed to file suit. So, this means that West Virginia must have VERY good reason to believe that he’ll not pay up.

I’m not a fan of buyout clauses…although I do understand why they exist. That $4 Million will likely go toward bonuses for the interim coach and the new head coach when one is named.

Will this lawsuit hit the courts or will he pay the resignation “fine”? We’ll see in a few weeks!

AP Photo: Tony Ding