Kentucky Details Stoops’ $37.7 Million Payout, Sets Will Stein’s 5-Year, $28.5 Million Deal

A separation agreement spreads Stoops’ severance into equal quarterly installments not reduced by future earnings.

Overview

Under the agreement, Mark Stoops is owed $3,937,500 within 15 days of his Dec. 1 dismissal, with the deadline falling on Dec. 16.
Kentucky will then pay Stoops $6.75 million in equal quarterly installments through April 1, 2031.
These payments include no mitigation provision, so any future Stoops earnings will not offset Kentucky’s obligation.
The schedule replaces a 2017 clause that would have required paying 75% of his remaining salary — about $37.69 million — within 60 days.
New head coach Will Stein agreed to a five-year, $28.5 million contract with $100,000 annual raises, up to $2.15 million in yearly incentives, and a without-cause buyout of 70% of remaining salary paid monthly.