Michigan and Rodriguez Pay Up

The Michigan and Rich Rodriguez vs. West Virginia saga is finally over, at least as far as the courts are concerned (fans may have something else to say about it).

For the last several months, West Virginia, where Coach Rodriguez had worked before abruptly moving to take the head coaching position at Michigan, has been battling the “traitor,” saying that he broke his contract and owes the school millions as a buyout.

Today, it was announced that they’ve reached a tentative agreement – Coach Rod will pay West Virginia $1.5 million and Michigan will pay the school the additional $2.5 million that they’ve been asking. Michigan will also cover all of the the coach’s attorney fees.

Rodriguez’s main argument was that West Virginia was not upholding some parts of the contract, and because they broke it first, he should not have to pay. In addition, he says that he signed the contract under pressure and that the school’s president, Mike Garrison, assured him that the buyout clause would be reduced or eliminated if he decided to quit (Garrison denies these promises). He still maintains that this is the case, but he and his new school feel that the distracting issue needs to be behind them before football season starts.

Ironically, Coach Rod signed a contact with Michigan that has a $4 million buyout clause…

Picture via Newscom.