Let's Talk Turkey

For any first-time readers and subscribers, what’s up and welcome to the show! This is the newsletter where I give you all a glimpse behind the Oz-sized curtain that is your favorite Texas State sports podcast: Squarin’ Around.

I got into a routine of sending out this newsletter as sort of a quasi-game recap at the beginning of the season, but then I had a major shift change at work and now I tend to send these out on Mondays after the Sun Belt Conference media availability, centered of course around our beloved Bobcats.

This week, btw, there was no SBC football media availability apart from the two coaches headed for the league’s title game: ULL’s Michael Desormeaux & Marshall’s Charles Huff.

Enough small talk, let’s address the elephant in the room: G.J. Kinne’s latest and greatest contract extension and his status with Texas State for either the long or short term.

You’ll remember, it was two Thursdays ago when Texas State made national headlines after a Texas State University System (TSUS) Board of Regents meeting where the board approved the terms of a contract for Kinne to coach through 2031.

Super happy fun times, right?

Boom! Monday afternoon #SquarinAround news dump! I finally got back the latest contract between Kinne and Texas State.

Here is what we know:

Kinne’s new deal runs through 2031 and has a tiered buyout, meaning it changes from year to year.

Headline: After two years of very unsafe sex, Texas State invests in condoms.

The biggest difference in all three of Kinne’s contracts is the buyout structure has changed.

In 2022, when Kinne was getting paid $800K to coach football, his buyout was 50% of the remaining guaranteed salary.

• For instance, if 3 years were left on his contract at $800,000 annually, the total buyout would be around $1.2 million.

In 2023, when Kinne and the university made history by making him the first millionaire sitting head coach, his buyout structure increased to 75% of the remaining guaranteed salary.

• For example, if 3 years were left at $1,000,000 annually, the buyout would be around $2.25 million.

Now, in 2024, Texas State has set some guardrails for teams looking to take away our star coach:

Resignation Clause (Section 3.04) - Full Penalty Breakdown:

1. If resignation occurs on or before January 15, 2025:

   • $3,750,000

2. If resignation occurs on or before January 15, 2026:

   • $3,400,000

3. If resignation occurs on or before January 15, 2027:

   • $2,400,000

4. If resignation occurs on or before January 15, 2028:

   • $1,500,000

5. If resignation occurs on or before January 15, 2029:

   • $1,000,000

6. If resignation occurs on or before January 15, 2030:

   • $500,000

7. If resignation occurs on or before January 15, 2031:

   • $500,000

8. If resignation occurs on or before January 15, 2032:

   • $500,000

Now keep in mind, this is different than the buyout clause outlined in the contract which would be if Texas State were to fire him. The university would owe Kinne 75% of the guaranteed annual salary.

Example: If Texas State fires G.J. Kinne in 2025, the university would be required to pay him $8,550,000 as part of the buyout penalty.

A lot of math, it can be confusing, it says he gets paid a million dollars where is all this other money coming from?

Kinne gets paid in a few different ways:

The first is for coaching football, what his “annual salary” is really used for.

The second “supplemental income,” appearing on podcasts, radio shows, meeting boosters, the works.

The third “performance bonuses, annual retention incentives and more.”

Altogether, we’re looking at about $2M for Kinne per year on this deal.

I’ll be honest, I totally spazzed out online on some poor soul after looking at documents and stuff all day. But it’s a lot to take in. I think I have finally articulated it well here.

So, why are people scared?

In case you missed it this weekend, UCF’s Gus Malzahn is set to resign from the head job and take over Offensive Coordinator duties at Florida State.

You real football fans will immediately see where this is going. If Malzahn is the Coaching tree, Kinne is the apple. G.J. played for Malzahn in college at Tulsa and just before taking UIW to the FCS semi-finals, he was UCF’s co-offensive coordinator. The hire would make a ton of sense and no drafted contract puts us in murky waters if it all ends up being true.

That coaching tree alone, paired with Kinne’s success at Texas State, is why everyone online freaked when they saw a plane from Austin headed to Orlando this week.

Yet to be determined if that’s anything or not.

I should also note that I did successfully track and break national news last week for KENS5 by reporting on a plane touching down at Kelly Airfield with American-born prisoners from China. I also used a plane’s tail number and flight trackers to do that. So, it can be accurate and everyone is free to speculate if they do so responsibly.

I haven’t even talked to “sources” for this story. I’ve just been spitballing with Andrew mostly on the ever-evolving coaching carousel.

As a journalist, all you have is your word and your ass. And if you flake out on the former, you won’t have the latter for long.

That’s why I tend to stay away from speculatory tweets unless a source tells me to go or in this case have the documents in hand. Sometimes I know things well ahead of when they get pushed out, but sat on the sidelines to preserve a relationship. It’s not about being first, it’s about being right and doing right.

Do no harm or minimizing harm is one of the hallmarks of an ethical journalist.

Here is what I did last with a few words last week all about Lincoln Pare’s comeback year:

On the recruiting trail:

Kinne is also continuing to recruit the new class and we are slated to appear in a bowl game. Good sign for sure, even if he is taking an interview, good to see his focus is still with the Bobcats.

The Sleeping Giant Is Awake:

There has been a lot said about San Marcos and Texas State as a whole as a sleeping giant. I have always hated that moniker because let’s face it, the only thing that was asleep was football. Every other team on campus has a very strong modern-day tradition of winning, plus or minus basketball.

When football “woke up,” a lot of things changed. For the better and the worse. But, for all intents and purposes, the sleeping giant is awake and moving. We all know how great and amazing Texas State is. And how dangerous they could be if football could get out of its own way sometimes.

And not saying it is happening, and not rooting for it at all, but having a head coach poached is also a sign that your program is headed in the right direction. As bad as I would feel writing something like that if it were to happen to Kinne, I would also be happy for him and his family.

But, Texas State sits at 7-5, on the cusp of a bowl selection with two very young and promising coordinators. To be honest, I thought Mac was on his way out last year. Should Kinne manage to keep the band together for another year and have more wins in the portal, we could be that much more dangerous next year and everyone knows that.

Our realized potential is our biggest appeal in this situation.

Last time I’ll bring up this buyout:

If you skim through the docs I posted, I’m not posting the full pdf because yesterday some guy on the internet told me he could do a better job at this than me, go for it, Buster. But really what I posted were the most important highlights.

Regardless, you’ll notice the first three years and really the first two years of Kinne’s new deal are the most expensive buyout he has, I believe he either gets an extension or restructures within the first two years of this deal. I know it’s a seven-year deal, but really Texas State is evaluating season to season.

Kinne has received two extensions in his first two years at Texas State, I think even next year at this time potentially I’m writing about another extension.

Here’s to hoping and praying it all works out.

Thanks for Squarin’