The albatross that is Notre Dame's buyout agreement with former coach Charlie Weis has announced itself once again.
The school's new federal tax return confirms Weis, who was fired in 2009, was paid $2,054,744 in 2014. That's more expensive than current coach Brian Kelly, who made $1.62 million, and, according to USA Today, more than all but two school employees earned in the same year.
The school allows Kelly to profit from approved external sources, so his pay from the school isn't a complete reflection of his earnings. Still, it's an annual source of embarrassment for the Fighting Irish that a coach jettisoned seven years ago is still has a hand so deep in the school's pocket. Although payments to Weis reportedly ended in December of 2015, it's a narrative Notre Dame won't fully be rid of about until a year from now, when the school's 2015 tax return is released.
You can bet Kelly is as sick of hearing about it as school officials, too.
According to the report, Weis piled up $16.9 million from the school from the time he was fired through 2014. If he again receives a little more than $2 million in 2015, Notre Dame's total buyout price for a coach with a five-year record of just 35-27 will finally close out in the neighborhood of $19 million.
That would be good work, if there were any work involved.
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