On Sunday, we wrote about how unique language in Sam Pittman's contract created an odd dynamic between coach and school, where Arkansas was oddly incentivized to root against its own team to save money on his buyout. Unfortunately for the timeliness of that article, Arkansas fired Pittman just a couple hours later. A day later, we have an idea how and why the school decided to move when it did.
To set the stage, following the 2021 season (by far, Pittman's best at Arkansas) the two sides agreed on a contract extension in which Pittman's buyout ran parallel to his winning percentage. Counting forward from the 2021 season, if Pittman won 50 percent or more of his games, Arkansas would owe him 75 percent of his remaining salary and "other compensation." If Pittman's winning percentage was below 50 percent, the school would only owe 50 percent of the remainder.
Following Saturday's 56-13 drubbing at the hands of No. 22 Notre Dame, Pittman was 29-27 from 2021 onward. Yeah. Awkward.
It didn't serve anyone's interests to wait around while Pittman lost three more games -- or even more, if the Razorbacks managed to halt their 3-game losing streak. At the same time, the 25 percent difference equated to around $3.5 million. Not a deal breaker, but also not a rounding error, either.
And so Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek revealed to the media on Monday that he and Pittman's camp agreed to meet in the middle. Rather than get into a game of chicken with their own head coach, Arkansas paid out 62.5 percent of Pittman's remaining compensation. The negotiation allowed both sides to move on with their respective lives while compromising on $1.5 million they could/would have made or saved, depending on what side of the table they sat.
Sam Pittman negotiated a reduced buyout to save Arkansas ~$1.5M, Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek said. Pittman will be paid 62.5% rather than the 75% of his due contract.
— JC Hoops (@JacksonCollier) September 29, 2025
Pittman, 63, exited stage left with a 32-34 mark at Arkansas across five-plus seasons, including a 14-29 record in SEC play.
"I went to visit with Sam and Jamie at their house, ironically at their kitchen table, which was the same place I hired them at Athens, Georgia, six years ago," Yurachek recalled Monday. "As you can imagine, Sam was incredibly gracious, incredibly thankful for the opportunity that he had had to be the head coach at the University of Arkansas and made a really tough day as [good] as it could for me as the director of athletics."
Now led by interim head coach Bobby Petrino, Arkansas is off this week before visiting No. 15 Tennessee on Oct. 11.
As he embarks on his second head coaching search as the AD at Arkansas, it will be interesting to see if Yurachek places the same clause in the contract of Pittman's eventual successor.