$700M worth Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers contract to match former Jimbo Fisher’s lifetime earnings at Texas A&M

The sports world was recently left in shock when Texas A&M fired coach Jimbo Fisher. It was reported that the Aggies owed him a guaranteed buyout of $77 million for what is considered an underwhelming tenure in the SEC.

A few days ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers showed that the amount payable to the former Aggies coach was a drop in the ocean compared to the amount that they guaranteed to pay two-way player, Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani signed the largest contract in American history. He got a 10-year contract worth $700 million, which translates to $70 million a season, or about the amount owed to Jimbo Fisher as his total buyout.

The comparison was made by The Athletic's Chris Vannini and it highlighted the enormity of the Shohei Ohtani contract.

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The extraordinary details in the Jimbo Fisher saga

The college football fraternity was certainly left shocked at the numbers involved in Fisher's firing by the Texas A&M Aggies.

On3 reports that, unlike most other buyouts, one aspect stands out in Fisher's contract. He will get paid the amount due to him regardless of whether he gets a new job or not.

The report detailed the extraordinary language used in his contract that guarantees that his golden parachute remains intact until fully paid up.

“If the University terminates this Agreement without Cause prior to its expiration and in connection therewith terminates the employment of Coach, University agrees to pay to Coach liquidated damages in an amount equal to the total compensation that would have been paid to Coach for the remaining term of the Agreement, both Annual Compensation under Section 4. 1 and Supplemental Payment under Section 4.2 but excluding any incentives or other benefits."

When the Auburn Tigers fired coach Gus Malzahn in 2020, he held the record for the highest-ever buyout in college football history with $21.45 million. Jimbo Fisher blew that out of the water with his extraordinary buyout. The report added:

“The University will make such payments after making appropriate deductions and withholding for taxes. Coach will not have a duty to mitigate University’s damages if this Agreement is terminated by University without Cause. Furthermore, University will not be entitled to any offset whatsoever in the event that Coach secures any subsequent employment.”