Five days. Three head coaches. Roughly $32 million owed to men who will spend this season not coaching.

Baylor, Maryland and NC State each fired their football coach in late October, triggering buyouts totaling about $32 million: a reported $12 million to Baylor's Dave Aranda, about $9.75 million to Maryland's Mike Locksley and roughly $10.3 million to NC State's Dave Doeren.

Maryland went first, announcing Locksley's exit on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Doeren was out on Oct. 24 after 14 seasons in Raleigh. Aranda followed on Oct. 25.

That's the sports story. The part worth stealing is buried in the paperwork.

The two words that are worth millions

Locksley's deal contains no offset.

He was set to earn $6.4 million in his eighth season on a contract running through 2028 and is owed a $9.75 million buyout, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel. There's no offset or mitigation on the deal, which means Maryland pays all of it even if Locksley lands another job.

Then there's the timing. Front Office Sports reported half of the buyout is due in a lump sum within 60 days.

So: fired on a Wednesday in October, and roughly five million dollars clears before Christmas, regardless of what he does next. Locksley has said he will not pursue another college head coaching job. "I'm at peace with it because I know it's better than what it was when I got here," he told ESPN.

It is easier to be at peace with a non-mitigated buyout.

Now compare Doeren's deal

Same week, same industry, much worse language. Doeren's contract includes a clause requiring him to make reasonable efforts to find another job, which could offset what NC State owes. And the cash comes slowly — a little more than $600,000 within 30 days, with the balance payable monthly.

Two coaches, two firings, two very different weeks. The difference isn't performance. It's who negotiated better three years earlier.

Why this matters at the other end of the coaching industry

Executive coaches, consultants and fractional operators sign engagement letters that look nothing like this. Most of them are written by the buyer, and most of them contain a 30-day termination-for-convenience clause that the coach signs without reading twice.

Which means the scenario everyone in this business knows — the client who is thrilled in month one, distracted in month three and gone in month four, usually because a new CFO arrived — costs the coach the entire back half of the contract.

The college version solves it with three mechanics worth borrowing:

A defined number, not a vibe. The buyout is calculated in advance, so nobody argues about it while emotions are high.

A payment clock. Half within 60 days beats "we'll process it."

No offset. Taking on a new client does not reduce what the departing client owes. That's the clause almost nobody on this side of the industry asks for, and the one that separates a severance from a gesture.

Ask for it in the agreement, not in the breakup conversation. Maryland is writing a $4.97 million check because somebody did.