Notre Dame pays big bucks to dump Weis
Former Irish coach got $6.6 million to leave in 2009, will get payments through 2015
(Al Messerschmidt, Getty Images / April 9, 2011)
Coach Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis of the Florida Gators direct play during the Orange and Blue spring football game.
By Brian Hamilton, Tribune reporter
12:01 a.m. CDT, May 20, 2011
How much did it cost Notre Dame to get rid of Charlie Weis?
Start with $6,638,403. And keep counting until December 2015.
Notre Dame made an initial "termination payment" to Weis of more than $6.6 million and will continue to cut smaller checks to its former football coach for the foreseeable future, according to federal tax documents obtained by the Tribune on Thursday.
Weis' apparent buyout is revealed on the Form 990 Notre Dame must submit to the Internal Revenue Service. It was made available to the Tribune upon request. Weis' total severance pay — which was subject to debate as his tenure drew to a close — won't be fully clear for years, though.
"Termination payment of $6,638,403 was made during the reporting period to Charles J. Weis under a separation agreement that includes much smaller annual payments through December, 2015," according to a section for "supplemental information" in the forms.
Former Irish coach Tyrone Willingham apparently is off the books at last, having received $650,000 for a "separation agreement" that included payments through December 2009.
A school spokesman could not confirm if the Form 990 covered the calendar year of 2009 or the tax year from July 2009 through June 2010. Not that it matters for Weis, who was fired in November 2009 after amassing a 35-27 record over five seasons as coach, earning Bowl Championship Series bids in his first two seasons and then spiraling to a 16-21 record over his final three years.
In the midst of a rejuvenating debut season, Weis signed a 10-year contract extension with Notre Dame in October 2005 that was to take him through 2015.
In total, between his standard compensation as coach until his firing and the "termination payment," Weis is listed as earning $7,284,548 from July 2009 through June 2010.
Current Irish coach Brian Kelly's compensation figures do not appear on the Form 990. Either he simply did not begin earning checks, if Notre Dame filed according to calendar year, or he did not earn enough over a few months to qualify as one of the school's highest paid employees.
As for other notable members of the Notre Dame athletic department?
Irish men's basketball coach Mike Brey earned $573,974 in base salary, bonuses, "other reportable" income, retirement and deferred money and non-tax benefits. Brey also made $500,000 from Adidas and Gatorade, according to the previous year's figures.
Brey also earned $120,000 from Play By Play Sports, the original name for what has become Notre Dame Sports Properties, the outlet that compensated him for media appearances such as a coach's show. (Weis earned $1,384,727 from Play By Play Sports.)
Irish women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw earned $643,913. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick earned $932,232.
bchamilton@tribune.com
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