Taggart never signed a formal contract at FSU, report says. Could it cost him millions?
Getting his buyout money from Florida State could become problematic for Willie Taggart.
That’s because Taggart never signed a formal contract to become the Seminoles head football coach, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
FSU had a nine-page letter of agreement with Taggart on Dec. 5, 2017, the day he was hired as the Seminoles head coach, the Times reported.
However, he did not sign a formal contract all the way from his hiring date through Nov. 3 when he was dismissed less than two years into his tenure, according to the outlet.
Taggart’s buyout is roughly $18 million.
There are complications from the letter that could affect the buyout for Taggart and for FSU.
The Times reported “FSU’s payment will be offset if Taggart secures ‘subsequent employment’ before the term ends in early 2024.”
“What that says to me is any damn job you get, whether it’s being an insurance salesman or pumping gas, is an offset,” Wisconsin-based attorney Martin J. Greenberg, whose previous clients included former Miami and Georgia coach Mark Richt, told the Times.
Aside from not having a formal contract and the “subsequent employment” area being vague, there was also a vague passage about FSU terminating Taggart for cause, which would result in not owing Taggart anything, according to the Times.
If there was not any cause for the termination, then FSU “would owe him 85 percent of what’s left on his six-year, $30 million deal,” according to the outlet.
The Times reported Taggart’s deal included, “the grounds include but are not limited to serious violation(s) of NCAA, ACC or rules and regulations or serious personal misconduct.”
