re: Petrino Extension - 7 years

quote:

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What was Petrino's original contract? How many years does or did he have left on his original contract? Why extend it if you aren't worried about losing your coach?

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answering one by one:

1) 6 yrs, 2.8MM w/ $6MM buyout that decreased year to year

2) 3 yrs left

3) because
a) 3 yrs isn't very long in coaching terms - nobody waits until the final year to draft a new K,
b) he made a BCS bowl, so renegotiate to meet market rate for a successful coach in this conference (currently 5th ranked pay in SEC, only $200k above Nutt), and
c) Petrino wanted raises for his assistants so he can keep the staff intact.

and because it needs to be stated again: as has been reported from the beginning, Petrino is the one who REQUESTED a larger buyout. Now it'll be $6MM flat, no decrease yearly. Petrino wants to send the message that he'll be at Arkansas for years to come.