THREE WORST DEALS

Here are five contracts that provide the least value for their respective schools, based on total compensation, buyout parameters and performance, among other factors.

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

The more you examine his contract, the worse it looks for Iowa. His base compensation for 2018 is $4.7 million, but it’s also riddled with incentives — bonus opportunities that he should regularly hit, inflating that number.

If the Hawkeyes simply make a bowl game, for example, Ferentz will receive a $100,000 bonus. If they win seven games, his entire staff will receive an automatic 8 percent raise. And if they win eight, as they have in the first two years of the contract, he’ll get an additional $500,000. (Winning seven games or more would also trigger an automatic increase in his buyout clause.)

Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

How bad did the Aggies want Fisher? Judging by the lopsided nature of his contract — Pretty darn bad.

Not only is Fisher due $7.5 million in total compensation this year, which is among the steepest salaries in the country, but if Texas A&M wanted to fire him, they’d owe him whatever’s left on his 10-year, $75 million deal. (As of Dec. 1, that would be more than $68 million, with Fisher under no responsibility to offset or mitigate that sum with future earnings.) If Fisher wanted to leave on his own, meanwhile, he’d owe the school nothing.

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

In response to reported interest from Arkansas, the Tigers reworked Malzahn’s deal and gave him an annual raise of nearly $2 million, a hefty increase, even by SEC standards. The real issue is the buyout. Last year, as of Dec. 1, it would have been

$6.9 million. This year, because his new contract effectively guaranteed

75% of his deal, it would be more than

$32 million.