Sports

What's Next For Urban Meyer After Being Fired By The Jaguars?

Will Meyer simply walk away silently with more than four years remaining on the term of that contract?

By  
on

sports football moneyUrban Meyer has been fired as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars before completing a full year of employment. The firing, which comes in the wake of former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo claiming to have been kicked by Meyer during warmups, raises questions about what the fallout may be for the now-fired coach and the organization that removed him less than one year into a five-year contract.

Will Meyer simply walk away silently with more than four years remaining on the term of that contract? No one knows for certain how much Meyer was being compensated, whether through guaranteed salary and bonuses, but many speculate that it was no less than $5 million and likely not more than $10 million annually. That presents a large delta, but easily eight figures on the line should Meyer agree that his termination was with cause or choose to fight the for cause designation applied by the Jaguars.

Not only must people speculate about Meyer’s salary, but also key terms in his employment contracts that could prove very important as he and his lawyers likely consider what, if any, next steps are appropriate. For instance, did Meyer’s contract include the standard “Good Moral Character” clause that is found in many coaching contracts or did he and his agent negotiate that out of the contract prior to executing it? Typically, these types of contracts include language that provides the team with an easy ability to escape further compensation obligations if the coach engaged in conduct detrimental to the club or the National Football League.

If it is true that Meyer kicked one of the players on the Jaguars (also an employee of the team), then that likely constitutes the cause of action of battery and separately the type of activity that falls within the scope of being conduct detrimental to the team.

Another question revolves around how the parties contracted for the adjudication of any disputes. It is possible that they agreed that any such disputes would be heard in front of Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office, which would probably play to the favor of the club and its owners, who essentially keep Goodell in his position and are responsible for paying his very expensive salary ($63 million annually for the past two years).

Ultimately, the most likely outcome may be a settlement where the Jaguars receive a release of any and all potential claims in exchange for a reduction in what the club would have otherwise paid Meyer throughout the term of his employment contract had it not been terminated prior to its natural expiration. It is hard to imagine that Meyer will just walk away from all of that money without at least putting up some sort of fight.

Sponsored

Darren Heitner is the founder of Heitner Legal. He is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, published by the American Bar Association, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. You can reach him by email at heitner@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @DarrenHeitner.

Sponsored

Topics

, , ,