Bret Bielema files suit against Razorback Foundation

Arkansas's on-going saga with former head coach Bret Bielema is ramping up now as legal documents show Bielema has filed a lawsuit for more than $7 million due to "breach of head coach buyout agreement."

The current New York Giants linebacker coach was fired from Arkansas in 2017 and was making $4.2 million a year at the time. The Razorback Foundation, responsible for paying Bielema's $12 million buyout, sent him payments up until he began making meagor money with the New England Patriots, first as a defensive consultant then as the defensive line coach.

Part of the buyout agreement requires the fired coach to seek employment that offers compensation consistent with the industry rates and there must be mitigating efforts to offset damages. The Patriots were reportedly paying Bielema just $50,000 to coach the defensive line.

However, there's evidence that Bielema's agent was seeking out top-level employment for the former Wisconsin head coach and he even interviewed at Colorado.

A very detailed description of the lawsuit and the arguments for both Bielema's side and the Foundation's side can be found on Variety.

On top of the money the Razorback foundation owes Bielema, they're also paying a $10.1 million buyout to Chad Morris who was fired 10 games into the 2019 season.

UPDATE: Marshall Nye, counsel for the Razorback Foundation, writes: "What I can share at this point before digesting the entire document is that the Foundation previously demanded that Bret Bielema return the $4,555,833.29 that had been paid to him prior to the Foundation's discovery of his multiple material breaches of the agreement. It appears that Bielema filed suit in order to avoid being sued."