Dabo Swinney Alabama clause, explained: Exploring the fine print of Clemson’s long-term deal with its coach

Dabo Swinney has a unique buyout clause if he decides to leave the Clemson Tigers for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Swinney has been the coach of the Crimson Tide since 2008, and in 2022, he signed a 10-year contract extension worth $115 million. At the time, many thought that it meant Swinney would be at Clemson for the foreseeable future, but the Tigers' coach has been rumored to be in the running for the Alabama job.

What is Dabo Swinney's Alabama Clause?

According to Sahil Kurup of the Tuscaloosa News, Swinney would have to pay 150 percent of his buyout in a given year if he chooses to coach at Alabama over another school.

That means Swinney would have had to pay $7.5 million if he decides to go to Alabama, while his buyout would only be $5 million if he goes elsewhere.

“How I look at that is Coach’s commitment to Clemson,” said Clemson athletics director Graham Neff in September 2022. “If you were to look at the market for the buyouts, Coach’s buyout to Clemson even before any of the additive for Alabama specifically is the highest of his market, the top 10 markets.

“That commitment that he has to Clemson sets the market … that’s how I see those buyout dollars, because there’s a lot of them around the country and the market that aren’t a whole lot if anything. So even those dollars there from Coach are emblematic of his commitment to Clemson.”

However, as the contract continues to play out, Dabo Swinney will play less and less in his buyout with every passing year:

• 2023: $5 million ($7.5 million)
• 2024: $5 million ($7.5 million)
• 2025: $4 million ($6 million)
• 2026: $3 million ($4.5 million)
• 2027: $3 million ($4.5 million)
• 2028: $2 million ($3 million)
• 2029: $2 million ($3 million)
• 2030: $1 million ($1.5 million)
• 2031: $0

Meanwhile, Alabama's coaching job is vacant right now; for how long it stays that way remains to be seen.

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Dabo Swinney's college coaching career

Dabo Swinney has been the coach of the Clemson Tigers since 2008. He has led the Tigers to national championships in 2016 and 2018.

Last season, he struggled, as Clemson went 9-4, but after a 4-4 start, some Tigers fans called for him to be fired, which Swinney wasn't happy about.

"You're part of the problem," Swinney told the caller, who introduced himself only as "Tyler in Spartanburg." "The appreciation, the expectation is greater than the appreciation. That's the problem. We've won 12 10-plus-win seasons in a row. That's happened three times in 150 years. Clemson ain't sniff a national championship for 35 years; we've won two in seven years. And there's only two other teams that can say that: Georgia and Alabama.

"Is this a bad year? Yeah, and it's my responsibility. Take 100 percent responsibility for it. But all this bull crap you're thinking, all these narratives you read. Listen, man, you can have your opinion all you want, and you can apply for the job. And good luck to you."

Dabo Swinney is 170-43 overall as the Clemson Tigers coach.