Bielema’s buyout reduced a little, but still high

Contracts are usually the starting point for negotiations and that’s been the case for former Arkansas coach Bret Bielema.

An ESPN reports says the former coach, fired last Friday following the eighth loss of the year for the Razorbacks, will get $11.8 million.

There was some confusion as to the amount people were expecting:

Some members of Arkansas’ board of trustees tried to argue that the school owed Bielema between $5 million and $6 million. Bielema’s attorney, meanwhile, wanted the full $15.4 million buyout. But the sides agreed on the negotiated settlement, which should be executed in the next few days, the source told ESPN.

As we’ve said, sports contracts are the starting point for negotiations to break them.