Surely Martin Jarmond cannot believe what’s transpiring this college basketball season. Not only are the UCLA Bruins massively under-performing this season but the Bruins head coach, Mick Cronin, is either in headlines due to his anger, or is throwing his team under the bus.
UCLA entered the season with a roster good enough to compete in the Big Ten. Cronin can spin his narratives about how his players aren’t playing hard enough, or are under-performing but it doesn’t change the fact that this season has been a complete letdown.
Things took another turn for the worst on Tuesday. Not only did UCLA get bulled by Michigan State, losing 82-59, but Cronin ejected his own player, Steven Jamerson, before throwing accusations towards a reporter in the postgame press conference.
This situation is bad as is, and then you remember Jarmond handed Cronin an extension in May of last year, which wasn’t made public until December. UCLA gave Cronin a new five-year deal and year one of that deal has both sides looking for an eject button.
If UCLA were to can Cronin after this season, which they almost certainly won’t do, Cronin would receive a $22.5 buyout. The buyout amount drops $4.5 million per year, meaning it’d be $18 million after the 2027 season and $13.5 after the 2028 season. That buyout figure drops to $15 million if Cronin were to take another coaching job this year.
How can UCLA and Cronin recover from this? Apparently not with local recruiting. The Bruins 2026 signing class includes just one player, three star center Javonte Floyd, from Ellenwood, Georgia.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Thanks to Martin Jarmond, Mick Cronin’s buyout is over $22 million
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
