J Batt’s move to Kentucky now has a date attached to it, and the buyout tied to his exit from Michigan State has been trimmed down from the original number.
Batt will officially begin as Kentucky’s athletic director on July 28, according to his new school. Kentucky will pay Michigan State a $3.95 million buyout for ending the six-year, $12.6 million-plus deal Batt signed when MSU hired him last year.
That figure did not stay at the $5 million MSU was originally owed. A source familiar with the arrangement told the Free Press the buyout was negotiated lower, and MSU spokesman Matt Larson later confirmed that was the case. Batt’s contract included an escape clause that would have cut the buyout in half if MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz left, but Guskiewicz said Monday he would remain in East Lansing after initially accepting the Clemson job on May 27.
For now, Batt is still on the Michigan State payroll. Emily Gerkin Guerrant, MSU’s vice president and chief communications officer, said Monday that he remains an employee and is reporting to work. She added that no departure date has been set yet, though she expected that to be finalized soon.
MSU brought in the 44-year-old Batt from Georgia Tech on June 2, 2025. A little more than a year later, on June 15, he accepted the Kentucky position while Guskiewicz’s future was unsettled.
There still has been no announcement from Guskiewicz, the school or the MSU Board of Trustees naming an interim athletic director while Batt remains in place.
Batt earned $1.85 million in base pay during his lone year at Michigan State, and a $100,000 annual raise was scheduled to kick in July 1. His contract called for yearly increases that would have pushed him to a projected $2.35 million in the final year, 2030-31, along with unspecified annual bonuses tied to goals set each June with the university president.
At Kentucky, Batt is set to work under a six-year contract that reportedly pays nearly $3 million per year. He will also serve as athletic director and CEO of the school’s Champions Blue organization.
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