The nonprofit Razorback Foundation has agreed to pay former head football coach Bret Bielema up to $11.9 million over three years, or roughly twice what the terms of his public employment contract prescribed, the foundation announced Tuesday.
Bielema's buyout agreement, finalized two months after he was fired, settles a disparity between the coach's contract with the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and a separate agreement with the foundation. Based on when he was fired, the two agreements set his severance pay at $5.9 million and $15.4 million, respectively.
"The original agreements were drafted by two different parties, and any discrepancy between the two was ultimately negotiated by the Foundation," University of Arkansas System spokesman Nate Hinkel said.