PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: The incessant, as yet-to-be-answered questions regarding Bill O’Brien’s future at Penn State were thrust back into the forefront Sunday, with ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reporting that O’Brien was likely on some NFL teams’ short lists, including the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles….
If any team, college or pro, wants to hire O’Brien it will be forced to pay a significant buyout. His contract states that if O’Brien terminates his contract with Penn State for any reason other than by death, disability or incapacity, the damages would equal his base salary ($950,000 for last year with an increase of five percent each year) and additional compensation ($1,350,000 annually) multiplied by the years remaining on his contract.
Under those terms, a buyout would equal $9.2 million if applied to the original duration of his five year contract. But because his contract was automatically extended another four years because of the NCAA sanctions, the buyout amount could be doubled to $18.4 million… (more)
