Cleveland.com: Urban Meyer's Ohio State contract gives him an out clause if past major NCAA violations arise

By Nick Baumgardner University of Michigan Sports Reporter

Posted on Mon, Jun 18, 2012 : 4:59 p.m.

If more trouble surfaces from the Jim Tressel era at Ohio State, the Urban Meyer era reserves the right to end immediately.

With a hefty paycheck, too.

On Monday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer outlined the details of the recently released employment contract between Ohio State and Meyer, who will begin his first season on the OSU sidelines this fall.

According to Meyer's deal, the coach could receive bowl-game bonuses next season despite the program's postseason ban. Additionally, if any major NCAA violations (from before Meyer's hiring) come out, the coach has the right to leave the job immediately and receive $1.5 million per year for the remaining years on the contract.

"We're very confident we have no issues," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told the Plain Dealer on Monday. "We scrubbed everything very hard, so when his attorneys asked for that, we felt comfortable doing that."

Meyer's six-year pact will pay him $4.4 million per year, which would rank him behind only Texas' Mack Brown and Alabama's Nick Saban nationally.

Presently, Michigan football coach Brady Hoke is paid $3.25 million per season.

And, despite the fact that OSU will be under a postseason ban next season, Meyer can earn a $50,000 pay increase if the Buckeyes finish the season with enough wins to qualify for a spot in the Big Ten title game.

Tags: Urban Meyer, Wolverines,

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Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.