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-- Clemson might need to look into turning its buyout game into a revenue stream.
That was mostly tongue-in-cheek, but it's nonetheless true that the football program made out pretty well on buyouts this year amid all the turnover.
Of course it helps when most of the replacements for departed staffers are already in the building, compared to coaches elsewhere who often require hefty price tags to get out of their existing contracts.
But the most interesting buyout-related item of the last few months is what it cost Todd Bates to scratch the Oklahoma itch and leave for Norman to join Brent Venables.
You'll probably recall that Clemson approved a new deal for Bates in mid-December. His previous contract, which ran through 2023, was for $515,000 a year. The new one was through 2025, and worth $750,000 a year.
Bates of course stayed with Clemson for Cheez-It Bowl practices and the bowl game before abruptly departing in early January to be the Sooners' defensive tackles coach, joining former defensive line staffer Miguel Chavis.
That was an expensive two weeks for Bates and Oklahoma. Had Bates left under the terms of his previous contract, he'd have owed less than $200,000 to get out of his Clemson contract.
But once he signed his name to the new contract, it meant he was obligated to pay Clemson $549,000 to get out of it.
And, yes, Clemson was fully committed to getting every penny of it.
Bates' Oklahoma contract, which lasts for three years, calls for him to get $440,000 the first year, followed by $665,000 the second year and $715,000 the final year.
Nick Eason did owe Auburn a buyout upon leaving The Plains after just one season. That price tag was $284,000.
Nonetheless, new Clemson AD Graham Neff has to be smiling at coming out $265,000 in the black on that exchange.
-- Speaking of Oklahoma and Venables, a lot of it looks and sounds like Dabo and Clemson.
That's certainly not a criticism; if anything it's a compliment as Venables takes so many pages from the book of Dabo as he tries to elevate the Sooners from really good to great.
