Fox faces hefty buyout if he resigns UGA post

Athens — Believing newly hired and little-known basketball coach Mark Fox will be a hot commodity in the years ahead, the University of Georgia will make it expensive for him to leave for another job.

Fox “will be obligated” to pay the UGA Athletics Association $2 million if he resigns at any time in the next six years, according to a memorandum of understanding signed by Fox and Georgia athletics director Damon Evans.

The document was obtained Monday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution under open-records laws.

Evans said the buyout is high compared to most coaches’ contracts and “good business sense” for Georgia.

“We want to protect ourselves,” Evans said from Detroit, where he attended the Final Four. “If [Fox] gets things going in the right direction, which we anticipate, we want something that will be an impediment to leaving.”

The memorandum calls for Fox to be paid $1.3 million per year through June 30, 2015 — $250,000 in base salary; $500,000 for radio/TV shows; $150,000 for camps; $300,000 for shoe and apparel endorsements; and $100,000 in “longevity” bonuses.

In addition, Fox can earn up to $400,000 per year in bonuses based on his team’s on-court and academic performance.

If fired “without cause,” he will receive 75 percent of the total compensation — excluding longevity bonuses — for each year remaining on the deal.