Charlie Weis still paid $2M annually from Notre Dame

ByMatt Fortuna ESPN logo
Monday, May 18, 2015

Former Notre Dame and Kansas coach Charlie Weis could ultimately earn more than $24.5 million from the schools while not coaching either program.

Notre Dame paid Weis $2,054,744 for the reporting period of July 2013 through June 2014, according to the university's federal tax return, which was provided to ESPN.com on Monday.

The sum paid to Weis to not coach the Irish -- already at a total of $14,857,379 because he has now received four straight payments of $2,054,744 from Notre Dame, following an initial payment of $6,638,403 after his firing -- could end up exceeding $18 million by next winter.

Notre Dame is scheduled for "additional annual payments" through December 2015, so two more payments of what Weis received in the previous four years means his buyout money from the school would total $18,966,867.

Weis was fired by Notre Dame following the 2009 season after five years as coach. He was fired four games into his third season at Kansas last fall, while he was still owed $5.63 million as outlined in his contract, according to The Associated Press, which had reported after Weis' firing that the coach would be paid monthly through Dec. 31, 2016.

Current Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly received $1,187,272 from Notre Dame during the 2013 reporting period, though that number likely does not match his total earnings. The school notes that "the current head football coach is permitted to receive compensation from external sources with prior written approval from the University." Income from a source such as a shoe company would not have to be reported on the tax forms.

Kelly's base pay was $995,244. He also received $7,200 in "bonus and incentive compensation," $132,473 in "other reportable compensation," $25,500 in "retirement and other deferred compensation," and $26,855 in "nontaxable benefits," all of which accounted for that $1,187,272 figure.

Kelly's base pay was nearly $300,000 more than his prior year's base pay of $698,140, though his bonus figure was well behind the previous year's figure of $607,200, which covered the year that Notre Dame reached the Discover BCS National Championship.

Notre Dame had announced a contract extension for Kelly after the first game of the 2013 season, through the 2017 season. Kelly's previous deal had him locked up through 2016.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick earned $1,353,430 from the school during the 2013 reporting period, while men's basketball coach Mike Brey earned a total of $1,712,264. Brey made $992,264 from the school, in addition to $720,000 from Play by Play sports, which is now known as Notre Dame Sports Properties.

Fighting Irish women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw earned a total of $1,561,311. She made $1,261,311 from the school and $300,000 from Play by Play sports.

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