Arkansas buys out former Badgers coach Bret Bielema for $15.4 million

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The buyout for fired Arkansas football coach Bret Bielema’s contract has been set at $15.4 million.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained a copy of the agreement between Bielema and the Razorback Foundation on Thursday under the state’s open records law. The foundation’s executive director says the agreement hasn’t been finalized.
The buyout proposal matches an amount listed in Bielema’s public employment contract with the university, which fired him on Nov. 24 after the team went 4-8. He had three years left on his contract.
The information was released after the state’s attorney general ruled that Bielema’s contract with the Razorback Foundation had a high level of public interest. The foundation is funded by donors supporting university athletics and is responsible for paying Bielema’s severance.