Kiffin's contract finally completed

Football coach Lane Kiffin and the University of Tennessee have finally signed their contract that had been agreed to before the season started.

There were no significant changes in the contract that was obtained by the News Sentinel from what had been previously reported from a memorandum of understanding. Kiffin was named UT’s coach on Dec. 1, 2008.

UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said the delay is a result of lawyers fine-tuning the contract to protect the interests of their clients.

“In most cases, the general terms are pretty straight forward and in general, easily agreed upon,” Hamilton stated in an e-mail to the News Sentinel. “As an example, the agreed upon basic terms between the athletic department and coach Kiffin were finalized upon acceptance of the job and intricate details were then finalized between University General Counsel and the coach’s representatives over the last several months.”

The contract specifically outlines the six self-reported secondary NCAA violations committed earlier this year. The contract states that Kiffin could be held responsible for any other violation that occurred during that time.

Kiffin’s buyout for the 2009 and 2010 season is $7.5 million. His buyout for the 2011 and 2012 season is $6.25 million. The buyout drops to $5 million in 2013 and 2014.

UT is still working on completing the contracts for its assistant coaches. Hamilton offered no timetable as to when those would be complete.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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