Les Miles' Contract

Okay, there have been numerous threads on the topic, so lets see if we can hammer out some details, shall we?

Unless there is an underground contract, this is the current contract for Les Miles:

CONTRACT

Notice the latest amendment date: March, 2008.

Some have said that Sean O'Keefe extended it by two years before he left the university. Well, Sean O'Keefe's last day as Chancellor of LSU was February 1, 2008. Nearly three months before the signing of this amended contract.

If you go to the third page of the contract, it says that this is an amendment to the last contract signed December 2007. There is NO mention of a contract extension that Sean O'Keefe supposedly issued to Miles before his departure.

And, honestly, the most important parts of this whole debate can be found in the memo from Lombardi to Miles on March 12, 2008.

The term of the latest contract is from January 1, 2008 to December 21, 2012. The confusion about the extension to 2014 may be due to a section that states:

quote:

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The Chancellor is authorized to extend the term of this agreement at his discretion for up to two years to December 31, 2014...

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The Buyout:

People are stuck on the $18.75 million buyout. Okay, lets break that down. In March of 2008, at $3.75 million per season, the 18.75 makes sense:

2008 - 3.75
2009 - 3.75
2010 - 3.75
2011 - 3.75
2012 - 3.75

Total - 18.75

This not a lifetime buyout amount - it is the remaining years left on the contract. Therefore, in March of 2008, Miles' buyout was $18.75 million. But now, if Miles were to be let go without cause at the end of this season, then the buyout should be $7.5 million.

This article from WAFB announcing the amendment in 2007 reports as much:

quote:

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Miles' buyout also stretches to $15 million if he's terminated without cause, but that amount decreases every year.

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WAFB Article

Yes, it states $15 million, but that was amended to the $18.75 in March as previously discussed.


The Rollover:

This is fairly simple. Looking at the memo from March 12, 2008, you will clearly see that there is no automatic rollover for an 8 win season. And, the only thing mentioned about the 8 games, is that could be the basis for an extension - certainly not a definitive reason for one.

It also states that the Chancellor has the option to grant, or not grant a one year extension after every season. If the Chancellor chooses to NOT grant the extension, then that must also be approved by the President.

It has been reported a couple of times that Miles was not given an extension after both the 2008 and 2009 seasons.


Summary:

I'm not claiming that this is gospel - these are merely my thoughts on the subject based on the little amount of research that I did. But I do think that it shows that the LSU administration was not acting illogically when they entered into the agreement with Miles in 2008.

It shows that Les Miles' contract ends in 2012, not 2014.

And it shows that Miles' buyout is not $18.75 million, but $7.5 million.


ETA:


From Jim Kleinpeter on Monday, August 2, 2010:

quote:
His six-year rollover contract, which pays him $3.75 million per season, was not rolled over the past two years.



LINK


So, from my thread, initial contract signed in 2006, with the same rollover clause, that has a term of 2006 - 2010.

Les gets a rollover for 2006 and 2007, which brings the term to 2012.

Les does NOT get 2008 and 2009 rolled over.

Therefore, 2012, is still the term end date.