New Contract - 75% of his remaining 2024 salary ($1.00 million) plus 75% of the remaining three years ($4+4.3+4.4 for a total of $12.7). Seventy-five percent of that number ($13.7) comes out to a grand total of $10.275 million.
Result? With the new extension, WVU is paying out $645,000 more to Brown if they fire him at the end of this month than they would have under the old deal.
Okay, let's now go to Brown being fired at the end of the season. All money paid this year is a sunk cost, done and gone. So we're just looking at future salaries. In that scenario, WVU would have paid $8.6 million (100% of his remaining contract) under the old deal, but will pay $9.525 (75% of $12.7 million) under the new deal, which equals $925,000 more. Take away $100,00 because of the savings in salary, and your true difference is $825,000.
Let's say WVU pulls a reverse-Dana and waits until January 1st to make their move, prompting the 85% trigger in the old deal. That would have saved WVU $1.3 million on the old deal, bringing the buyout down to $7.31 million..... while it would still remain $9.525 under the new deal.
How about the ship gets righted, WVU finishes 8-4 on the season, and they ride it out for one more year, but things go horribly in 2025? WVU moves on after the 2025 season. That would mean Brown got his salary for all of 2025, then the buyout for beyond that. In the old deal, that would be a total of $7.94 million ($4.2 million in salary plus $3.74 million in buyout), while the new extension would have paid him $10.525 million ($4 million salary plus $6.525 million in buyout). That's a difference of $2.585 million - saving $200,000 in salary, but paying $2.785 million more in buyout.
