Dave Hakstol owes University of North Dakota six figure penalty for taking Flyers coaching job

It's pretty obvious that Dave Hakstol believes in the Philadelphia Flyers organization and their chances to win the Stanley Cup during his tenure here. We know that because he had a pretty cushy gig in North Dakota, where he led UND's men's program for the last 11 seasons, and he would have been dumb to leave unless it was the right opportunity.

But we now also know that he has to pay back the University as a result of his departure. The Grand Forks Herald shed some light on his UND contract, which would have paid him a base salary of $318,270 in 2015-16, and it includes an NHL out clause. Here are the details:

If he were going to a minor league team or taking an assistant coaching job in the NHL, Hakstol would have owed $50,000. If he left for another NCAA team, he would have owed $318,270, which was his base salary for the 2015-16 season.

Hakstol had three seasons left on his contract with UND. The monetary penalties for leaving before the end of the contract would have decreased each year. He was in the third year of his six-year deal.

$100,000 is nothing to sneeze at, although it's clearly worth it to Hakstol. Sure, it's just about one-third of his yearly base salary, and if you take that much of anybody's salary, it's going to change their lifestyle significantly.

But he made much more than just that base salary at North Dakota. The Dickinson Press reports that Hakstol earned $649,618 in 2012-13, thanks largely to performance bonuses. (Those earnings also made Hakstol the second-highest paid public employee in North Dakota that year.)

Hakstol's base salary is $300,000. Much of his other compensation was earned through meeting some of the 16 performance goals spelled out in his contract, Johnson said. For instance, if the team earned a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, Hakstol received a 2 percent salary increase. There was a potential 8 percent bonus for a Frozen Four appearance and a 20 percent bump worth $60,000 for winning a national title.

Hakstol's NHL contract is not public record like his UND contract was, so we don't know what he's earning with the Flyers. Safe bet it's over $1 million per year, though ... so this $100,000 penalty to the University is certainly worth it to him.