The $10 million buyout number is extremely misleading...

Moscona and others in the media are throwing around this big number. It sounds like a massive, one-time check that LSU would have to cut at the beginning of March.

First off, it is not a lump sum payment. The contracts specifically say LSU pays this out in equal monthly installments over the rest of the years left on the deal. For McMahon, LSU is basically just paying a monthly bill for the next few years, not taking an 8 million dollar hit to the bank account all at once.

Even more important is the offset rule. The coaches have a legal duty to find new jobs. The second McMahon or any of the assistants get hired somewhere else, LSU gets to subtract that new salary from what they owe. If McMahon goes and gets a mid-major job for 500k a year, that is 500k LSU instantly wipes off the books.

Two of the assistants have a contract that ends this year.

That 10 million figure is the absolute max ceiling if every single one of those coaches stayed unemployed until 2029, which basically never happens in college sports. It is still expensive, but it is a manageable monthly expense that gets cheaper every time one of them gets a new gig. It is not the massive haul that some are making it out to be.