Michigan Pays Athletic Director Warde Manuel $7.14 Million to Resign After Culture Investigation

Michigan's athletic director Warde Manuel is out at the end of 2026, and the university is paying him $7,143,346 to go quietly.

The payment, confirmed in a settlement agreement obtained by The Detroit News and reviewed by Front Office Sports, will be paid in one lump sum within 21 days of Manuel's departure. He'll also get a $108,000 retirement contribution, full retiree health benefits despite not meeting the school's normal 20-year service requirement, and $82,000 in covered attorney fees. Michigan is also giving him "former athletic director privileges" — sports tickets and golf access — on the way out the door.

Manuel signed the agreement on July 17, 2026, according to Front Office Sports, one day after a Michigan board of regents meeting where his future reportedly wasn't even on the agenda. The university announced his departure days later.

Why He's Leaving

Manuel's exit follows a monthslong investigation by the Chicago law firm Jenner & Block, which Michigan hired last November to review the athletic department's culture after the school fired football coach Sherrone Moore for an inappropriate relationship with then-executive assistant Paige Shiver.

Moore's situation escalated fast. After being fired, he drove to Shiver's apartment and allegedly threatened self-harm while holding a butter knife, according to the New York Post. He was arrested and, in March 2026, pleaded no contest to malicious use of a telecommunications device and trespassing, receiving 18 months of probation, according to Front Office Sports.

That scandal was the trigger for the broader review, but it wasn't the only mess Manuel's department had been dealing with. The NCAA found "overwhelming evidence" last August that Michigan football ran an illegal sign-stealing operation from 2021 to 2023 under former analyst Connor Stalions, a scheme that cost the school roughly $30 million in fines, according to Eleven Warriors. Former co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was separately indicted on 24 federal charges in March 2025 for allegedly accessing personal information without authorization.

Michigan spent nearly $12 million on the Jenner & Block investigation, according to Sports Illustrated. The university has not released the full report, but it did publish a summary and a Q&A addressing what investigators found about Manuel specifically.

What the Investigation Found

Investigators did not find that Manuel had direct knowledge of Moore's affair while it was happening. Michigan president Domenico Grasso said in a video statement that "investigators did not identify any current employee who had direct, contemporaneous evidence of the relationship."

But the broader culture review found real problems. Grasso said it identified "serious concerns that require immediate action," including "failures in accountability, structural deficiencies, weaknesses in our reporting and support systems, and concerns about retaliation." Michigan's own statement said Manuel "demonstrated important leadership strengths, particularly his commitment to student-athletes," but also found "failures to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing by Athletic Department employees."

The mixed verdict is why Manuel is getting a full buyout instead of being fired for cause. Front Office Sports reported the investigation did not draw "strong enough support to terminate Manuel for cause." Under his contract, an extension signed in 2024 that ran through mid-2030 and paid a $1.9 million base salary with total compensation around $2.4 million a year, that distinction is worth millions.

If Michigan had fired him for cause, the school likely could have avoided this payout entirely. Instead, the settlement is explicitly framed as covering a "complete settlement of Mr. Manuel's claims against UM," and his personnel file will show he "voluntarily resigns."

The Fine Print

Manuel isn't walking away completely free of Michigan. He'll stay on in an advisory role through the end of the year, helping implement the reforms the investigation recommended, according to Front Office Sports.

He's also boxed out of the conference for a while. The settlement includes a two-year non-compete clause barring him from working as an athletic director or senior athletics official for any other Big Ten school.

The Open Question

Michigan hasn't released the full Jenner & Block report, only a summary and a Q&A. This means the public doesn't have the complete picture of what investigators found regarding the "weaknesses in accountability, organizational structure, oversight, and reporting" that Grasso referenced.

Michigan spent nearly $12 million on the investigation itself, on top of the $7.14 million buyout for the man whose department was under review — a substantial combined bill to clean house without firing anyone for cause. Whether alumni and the Board of Regents view that as the cost of accountability or an expensive way to avoid a harder conversation about who actually gets held responsible is unclear. Michigan has not said whether it plans to release additional details of the investigation's findings.