Report: Paul Chryst may be owed more than $16.4 million in buyout money

Wisconsin surprised plenty in college football on Sunday evening after the firing of head coach Paul Chryst. After eight seasons in Madison where the team was ranked and made a bowl in every season, the 2-3 start this fall did in one of the longest-tenured coaches in the Big Ten.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel provided quite the nugget of information in the aftermath of the news. Based on the terms of Chryst’s contract, this move could cost the school as much as $16.4 million in a buyout.

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Per Paul Chryst’s contract, the school owes him more than $16.4 million if he’s fired without cause. Terms of separation could apply. But that’s the contract.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 2, 2022

After starting the season No. 18 in the nation, things hadn’t gone according to plan for the Badgers. They blew out Illinois State and New Mexico State but have lost all three of their Power-5 matchups. Their loss to Washington State was close, but their losses to Ohio State and Illinois in Big Ten play have been blowouts.

Not only is this a surprise decision for Wisconsin. It’s a monetarily costly one too. For reference, this buyout will cost the school $1.4 million more than it cost Nebraska to let go of Scott Frost and, needless to say, Chryst had much more success than Frost. It’s a shocking move that will leave the Badgers with a ton of questions before they play Northwestern this weekend.

Report: Wisconsin parts ways with head coach Paul Chryst

Wisconsin has parted ways with head coach Paul Chryst, ESPN’s Adam Rittenburg reported Sunday. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard will take over as the interim head coach for the remainder of 2022.

Chryst has been the coach of the Badgers for the past eight seasons, compiling a 67-26 record in that span. He led them to an Orange Bowl victory in 2017 and a Rose Bowl appearance in 2019, but was off to just a 2-3 start this season.

Chryst is a former Badgers quarterback who took over the position in 2015 following three seasons as the head coach at Pittsburgh. Prior to that, he was an offensive coordinator at Wisconsin from 2005-11.