What if JP, liking Steve, knowing Steve wants to leave, and facing budget issues says 1.) come back with a new staff and give it one last chance with a real pg on the roster 2.) or you can get paid to do whatever you whatever you want. To which Steve responds “how much”? And likely would take something other than 100% of the buyout.
Would you agree to get paid not to do your current job for 90% of your salary? If you turn it down, you work as normal? Where that percentage lands is personal, but likely goes down the more wealth you have.
Could Steve say, “bs” I know you want to fire me? Absolutely, they could play that game. But JP has a Covid budget as a genuine reason, and the fact Steve’s post-ISU earnings will only go down with another year like this and not having Hunter to sell. And then there’s the fact they’re close and Prohm cares about the program.
I do agree that Jamie could want to avoid playing hardball with his friend, but like you said in another post, donors don’t like paying buyouts ;-) Avoiding the lump sum is priority one by Jamie, but omg, Why would Steve give up TVM?!?!?
