Former Missouri athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois will pay a lower buyout to the school than her contract initially required, according to a settlement signed by the former administrator and university leadership.
Because she left Mizzou before the end of her contract, Reed-Francois — now the athletic director at Arizona — will have to pay at most $2 million to her previous employer, according to the agreement. KMIZ first published the signed settlement, which it obtained through an open records request.
That amount is less than the $3 million that was expected to be her buyout when she left MU for Arizona in February, which means UM System leadership evidently gave in to some degree to Reed-Francois’ requests.
Whether she ever asked to lower the amount she owed was not made public, but Arizona’s leadership publicly stated that it would only assist her with $1.5 million of any buyout and expected her to remove or reduce anything owed to Missouri.
Per terms of the settlement, Arizona could cover $1.5 million of the $2 million Reed-Francois now owes and has done so, according to KMIZ’s report. A third party is not allowed to cover the remaining $500,000 on her behalf.
It may not wind up being $500,000, though. If she pays MU $250,000 by March 31, 2028, the university will call things even. That means her buyout could functionally wind up being $1.75 million in total.
Reed-Francois had signed a contract extension with Missouri in March 2023, a deal that ran through the end of the 2027-28 academic year. That agreement called for a buyout — based on when she left for Arizona — in the $3 million range.
Should she not pay the amount owed under the settlement, MU would legally be ably to file a breach of contract complaint for $3 million.
Reed-Francois signed the settlement in late June, while UM System Board of Curators Chair Robin Wenneker did so in early July.
Both Reed-Francois and the university agreed to waive any other complaints or legal issues as part of the settlement.
