If talk is cheap, talk of Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin making the NFL his next coaching stop is now a lot cheaper.
Details of Sumlin's new $5 million-per-year contract with the Aggies, reported by dallasnews.com, include a $5 million buyout for any coaching destination -- NFL or otherwise -- should Sumlin leave TAMU before the end of the 2016 season. That's more than double Sumlin's previous buyout of $2 million, and more than enough to scare away all but the very deepest pockets at the college level. And while budget constraints might not govern NFL owners so much when it comes to hiring a coach, even they might blink at the prospect of the $10 million up-front price tag it would cost merely to buy Sumlin out and pay him what he already makes for only one season.
Interestingly, however, Sumlin's buyout clause dissolves after 2016.
That means after three more seasons in College Station, Texas A&M wouldn't get a dime if he were to leave, as long as he stays through a potential bowl appearance at the end of the 2016 season.
Sumlin, for his part, has maintained throughout reports of his candidacy for the USC job and others that he is content in College Station. And perhaps more importantly, his wife apparently isn't interested in another short-term move.
Sumlin has compiled a 19-6 record in his first two seasons at Texas A&M.
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