USC paid Clay Helton over $905,000 in separation payments in 2021

From 2015 to 2021, Clay Helton was the head coach at USC. During that time, the Trojans struggled to live up to the program’s expectations for itself and after starting 1-1 in the 2021 season, the two went their separate ways.

Now, it’s being reported by Steve Berkowitz that USC paid Helton more than $905,000 as a separation payment. On top of that, the school is describing his departure as a resignation on its federal tax records, rather than a firing.

For that payment, Helton received monthly payments totaling $565,186 and one lump-sum payment of $340,926. However, it’s unclear if these payments continued past 2021 and the school has not made any comments on these payments. As a private school, USC does not have to report on its spending the same way a public school like UCLA does. So, there is a possibility Helton is still receiving payments.

In total, Clay Helton received slightly less than $4.7 million in compensation in 2021 from USC. That’s approximately $800,000 more than university president Carol Folt was paid.

By November of 2021, Clay Helton had been hired by Georgia Southern to be the program’s new head coach. There, he’s being tasked with transitioning the Eagles away from the triple option. To do so, he was given a five-year contract that will average about $800,000 per season. That’s notably less than USC’s separation payments to Helton were.

For USC’s part, the Trojans hired Lincoln Riley away from the Oklahoma Sooners. However, the details of his contract aren’t known.

Clay Helton acknowledged Lincoln Riley’s success

In his first season at USC, Lincoln Riley revitalized the Trojans’ offense and brought USC to the Cotton Bowl. It was a great turnaround that has people excited for the future.

However, Clay Helton found success at his new school too, grabbing an upset win at Nebraska in September. After that game, he praised Riley and USC, unprompted, for the success they had found to that point in the season.

Sports Illustrated’s Rodd Dellenger tweeted, “During an interview about his new team’s big win at Nebraska, Clay Helton, unprompted: ‘How about USC? So proud of them. Lincoln is doing a great job.’ USC AD Mike Bohn & Helton shared texts this weekend. Bohn texted ‘Really proud of you!’ Not your typical post-firing situation.”

It would have been easy for Clay Helton to be bitter. However, he took the high road and proved why he deserved another opportunity to lead a football program.