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Smith Contract Extension Includes $2.5M Buyout Max

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota's contract extension with coach Tubby Smith has a $2.5 million limit on what the university must pay if he's fired before the end of the deal.

Smith's three-year extension through the 2016-17 season was finalized last week. The university made the details available on Friday.

He makes about $1.8 million per year, before bonuses. If Smith's deal is terminated between now and April 30, 2016, the university will pay one-half of his base salary and supplemental compensation for the remainder of the contract.

But that amount cannot exceed $2.5 million, a clause that would save the school hundreds of thousands of dollars if the Gophers were to struggle again and Smith were to be let go next spring.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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