The University of North Texas owes Seth Littrell nearly $1.6 million in a buyout after firing him Sunday after seven seasons as the Mean Green's head football coach. The total will likely be reduced when Littrell takes a new job.
Seth Littrell looks at the scoreboard during the Mean Green’s game against Missouri in October 2021. He was fired as the University of North Texas’ football coach on Sunday.
The University of North Texas owes Seth Littrell nearly $1.6 million in a buyout after firing him Sunday after seven seasons as the Mean Green's head football coach. The total will likely be reduced when Littrell takes a new job.
Seth Littrell looks at the scoreboard during the Mean Green’s game against Missouri in October 2021. He was fired as the University of North Texas’ football coach on Sunday.
The University of North Texas owes Seth Littrell nearly $1.6 million under the terms of his contract after firing him on Sunday.
The former head coach of UNT’s football team had one year remaining on his deal following this season with a base salary of $1.35 million. UNT owes Littrell the remainder of that base salary, to be paid on a monthly basis. The contract runs through Jan. 31, 2024.
The deal was amended last January when a mitigation clause was added. That clause requires Littrell to seek a comparable job with a “market-rate salary” after being fired.
The contract defines market rate as either the average total compensation for the position Littrell takes among public schools in the athletic conference he lands in or the three-year average for the position at the school where he takes a job.
The lesser of those two totals will define the “market rate.”
There is a clause in Littrell’s contract that addresses a reduction in a buyout if either UNT President Neal Smatresk or athletic director Wren Baker are no longer at the school.
A UNT official who deals directly with employment contracts at the school confirmed to the Denton Record-Chronicle early Monday morning that the clause in the contract addressing the departure of Smatresk or Baker only applied to the possibility of Littrell leaving UNT for another job and paying a buyout to the school.
Littrell was a highly respected offensive coordinator before he came to UNT. He made stops at the University of Arizona, Indiana University and the University of North Carolina before taking over the Mean Green’s program.
Littrell called plays at times during his tenure at UNT. He turned over play-calling in recent years to offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch but remained highly involved in the Mean Green’s offense.
UNT has been among the top offensive teams in Conference USA throughout Littrell’s tenure and is averaging 33.9 points per game this season.
Littrell could also be an attractive candidate for a school looking for a head coach. He guided UNT to six bowl games in seven seasons and finished 44-44 with the Mean Green.
