Neal Brown's New Contract Details = A Win for WVU

Wren Baker did a masterful job with this contract extension.

WVU head football coach Neal Brown received a one-year contract extension Tuesday morning, keeping him in Morgantown through the 2027 season. 

Although some fans are not thrilled about the idea of extending Brown, the new contract greatly helps WVU and the football program as a whole.

According to Greg Carey of MetroNews, Brown is actually taking a pay cut in his salary over the next three years.

"From $4.1 to 4 million in 2024; $4.2 to 4 million in 2025; and $4.4 to 4.3 million in 2026. Brown is foregoing $400,000 in increases over the three years to reinvest more into the program, including staff salaries, sources say."

The deal is even more university-friendly in that the buyout percentage decreases from having to pay Brown 100% of his remaining salary if fired on or before December 31, 2024 and 85% if after -- down to just 75%. 

The part that protects Brown is if he were to leave for another job. Per Carey, Brown will only be asked to pay 10% of his remaining salary as opposed to 25% in the previous contract if he took a new job before 2025.

It's rare that you see a head coach get extended and be willing to take a pay cut, but Brown knows that he's got something special brewing in Morgantown and the university needs to pour as much as it can into giving him the resources to take this program to the next level. It will give Brown the ability to hold on to his assistant coaches and assuming they continue to have success in 2024 and beyond, having a larger assistant pool is going to be important.

If for whatever reason the 2024 season doesn't go as planned and Baker and the administration feel like they need a new man in charge, they can make that move and not have to hand over every cent of his remaining salary thanks to the buyout decrease. 

This new contract is one that gives WVU both flexibility and protection.

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