photo credit: Craven Whitlow
After back-to-back gut-wrenching losses, Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman once again finds himself squarely on the hot seat.
In a vacuum, dropping a pair of games by a combined 7 points isn’t the end of the world.
“Guys, we didn’t get beat by 100,” Pittman acknowledged during his weekly Monday press conference. “We lost two games. … I’m not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.”
However, both of them ended with fumbles in the shadow of the end zone in the closing minutes, with the former coming against an Ole Miss team starting a DII transfer at quarterback and the latter coming against a Group of Five foe in Memphis.
The sixth-year coach is now an abysmal 7-19 in one-score games. Those 19 losses are tied with California for the third-most in the FBS since 2020, trailing only Nebraska (27) and Northern Illinois (20).
Fans are understandably losing their patience, especially after athletics director Hunter Yurachek’s comments at last week’s Little Rock Touchdown Club meeting.
Explaining Sam Pittman’s Buyout Structure
Getting rid of Sam Pittman, as many are calling for in the aftermath of Saturday’s 32-31 loss at Memphis, wouldn’t be cheap.
While his overall record now sits at 32-33, the record that matters for his buyout is 29-25. That’s his mark since 2021, when the UA agreed to “reset” his contract following his pandemic-altered debut campaign. That means Pittman’s 3-7 record against an all-SEC slate during his debut season doesn’t factor into the equation determining his buyout.
There seems to be some confusion about what exactly that number is, so Best of Arkansas Sports dove into the contract to clear it up.
If his record since 2021 dips below .500, the Razorbacks would owe him just 50% of his remaining contract. Otherwise, they must pay out 75%.
Put simply, Arkansas would have to get to four games under .500 this season for the buyout to drop to that lower tier. With the Razorbacks sitting at 2-2, the earliest that could happen is with four consecutive losses.
It is also worth noting that Pittman is under contract through 2027, so he has two full years left after this year. Thanks to a pair of $250,000 raises triggered by 7-win seasons in 2022 and 2024, he’s making $5.5 million in base salary, not including the retention bonuses sometimes included in his salary total.
That means he’s on the books for another $11 million. However, if he’s let go before the end of the calendar year, Pittman’s buyout would also include the portion of 2025 remaining.
The math can get complicated, so here’s what his buyout would be after each of the Razorbacks’ remaining games, based on their record at the time…
GameBuyout (record stipulation)Sept. 27 – vs. Notre Dame$9.30 millionOct. 11 – at Tennessee$9.16 millionOct. 18 – vs. Texas A&M$9.08 millionOct. 25 – vs. Auburn$6.00 million (if 2-6)
$8.99 million (if 3-5 or better)Nov. 1 – vs. Mississippi State$5.94 million (if 2-7)
$8.91 million (if 3-6 or better)Nov. 15 – at LSU$5.84 million (if 3-7 or worse)
$8.75 million (if 4-6 or better)Nov. 22 – at Texas$5.78 million (if 3-8 or worse)
$8.67 million (if 4-7 or better)Nov. 29 – vs. Missouri$5.73 million (if 4-8 or worse)
$8.59 million (if 5-7 or better)
No matter what happens the next three games, the Razorbacks would owe Sam Pittman at least $9 million because there is no chance for his record since 2021 dips below .500.
Beginning with the Auburn game on Oct. 25, there are two different potential buyouts for the sixth-year coach depending on Arkansas’ record at the time.
If the UA opts to pull the cord following the Notre Dame game Saturday, the buyout is about $9.3 million. If the school waits until the end of the season and the Razorbacks finish 4-8 or worse, it drops to $5.73 million. That’s a difference of $3.57 million.
Of course, if Brandon Marcello’s reporting for CBS is accurate, that may not matter.
“Talking to sources around Arkansas, buyout money doesn’t matter at this point,” Marcello said on the CBS Sports College Football Insiders podcast Sunday. “If they feel like it’s going to be the best situation, they will make a move in the middle of the season.”
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Listen to the discussion of Sam Pittman at the 32:28 mark below:
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More coverage of Arkansas football and Sam Pittman from BoAS…