Columnist shuns South Carolina for paying Steve Spurrier his full 2015 salary
Coach half a season and you deserve half your salary.
That’s how longtime Post & Courier columnist Gene Sapakoff put it Tuesday with regards to Steve Spurrier’s exit at South Carolina and the Gamecocks’ decision to pay the former Head Ball Coach his full $4,028,000 salary this season.
But shame on South Carolina now that the cash-strapped school has decided to pay Spurrier his full $4,028,000 for 2015. Though South Carolina considers the post-quitting payment due Spurrier a $900,000 payoff, Spurrier deserves only $2,014,000 for the year — half a salary for half a season.
It’s a travesty of wasteful spending at our state’s largest public institution of higher learning.
Sapakoff puts some of the blame on South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner, but says the buck stops at the feet of president Harry Pastides for passing it through.
More or less, South Carolina’s giving Spurrier the rest of his $4 million this season as a sign of gratitude, a personal thank you to what he brought to the Gamecocks over the last 10.5 seasons.
Sapakoff’s opinion, while valid with well-written and justifiable points, isn’t a popular one within Gamecock Nation.