The University of Georgia owes a combined $6.2 million to former head football coach Mark Richt and several former assistant coaches, according to DawgNation.com.

By SEC standards, that’s a tame figure. LSU considered paying a reported $17 million buyout to get rid of Les Miles after the 2015 season. Texas A&M would owe Kevin Sumlin the full amount of his contract if it ever fires him, which would be $15 million at the conclusion of the 2016 season.

Still, it is always interesting to look at the financials involved in SEC football as well as their implications. Regardless of how it compares to other situations, paying $6.2 million is nothing at which to scoff.

According to the DawgNation report, Georgia owes Richt $4 million, former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer $1.2 million and former defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt $600,000, among others. The two coordinators will be paid through the 2017 season.

The story also added this detail about the cost for Georgia to switch coaches:

“There are many other residual expenses to changing football coaches. By mid-January, Georgia already had spent more than $40,000 in construction and maintenance costs incurred with converting its football offices for the new coaching staff. That includes $26,660 renovation of the offensive coaches’ meeting room, according to expense invoices.”

Georgia will save about $375,000 on its head coaching salary, the approximate gap between Richt’s salary in 2015 and what the team reportedly will pay Kirby Smart in 2016. There may be a few other savings with the assistant coaches, as Pruitt and Schottenheimer combined to make more than $2.25 million in 2015, according to USA Today. Georgia will pay its two coordinators a combined $1.7 million in 2016, according to 247Sports.

So perhaps the true cost of the move is closer $5 million. And that’s not considering extraneous factors. In situations like these, boosters often volunteer some cash in order to help the program afford to make the transition. And if the team can drum up some additional revenue in the form of tickets, concessions and merchandise with the excitement that a new coach brings, that number gets negated further.

Still, there’s pressure on Smart. Richt mostly did a heck of a job in his 15 years at Georgia. If Smart’s first National Signing Day as head coach is any indication, he’ll work with comparable talent. So the question is, did the Bulldogs go through all of that to improve, or will the team stay the same or (gulp) regress?

If Smart manages to win a national championship at Georgia, a few million dollars will have been a bargain.