Public records show exactly how much FSU is still paying Willie Taggart
Even though he has a full-time job coaching another FBS football program, Willie Taggart was paid almost the same amount to not coach Florida State last season as Mike Norvell received to actually lead the Seminoles.
According to a document released by FSU following a public records request from Warchant, the university paid Taggart $3.498 million in 2020 -- his first full year away from the program after being fired in November 2019. And that was after two separate discounts were applied to his original deal calling for $5 million per year.
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According to Taggart's six-year contract, he was to receive 85 percent of his annual salary if terminated by FSU without cause (NCAA violations, etc,). That means the Seminoles were on the hook for paying him $4.25 million each year through January 2024.
That annual payout was reduced once again when Taggart was hired to be the head coach at FAU shortly after his dismissal in Tallahassee. But because the Owls are only paying Taggart $750,000 per year, his severance from FSU was dropped from $4.25 million to $3.5 million.
Unless something changes with his FAU contract, FSU will have to pay Taggart that same amount in 2021, 2022 and 2023, which will bring his total payout from FSU to over $14 million. He is receiving about $290,000 per month from his former school.
Norvell, who was hired to replace Taggart in December 2019, signed a six-year deal worth $26.5 million and was scheduled to make $4 million in 2020. But he voluntarily took a pay cut due to the financial crisis caused by COVID-19, and instead made $3.53 million, according to the USA Today coaching salaries database.
So Norvell essentially received about $32,000 more than Taggart from FSU last year.
Taggart, who was hired by FSU after one season at Oregon, coached just 21 games at Florida State. He went 9-12 overall and 0-5 against rivals Miami, Clemson and Florida.
FAU went 5-4 in Taggart's first season with the Owls.
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