I have read on here from a number of sourced posters that the $18 mil is super high and that the number is "closer to $10mil" For that discrepancy to be truth, then the contract has to be incentivized. Since every coaching contract known to man is incentivized, it makes sense that Manning's would be too.
Additionally, it was also tweeted when VTech signed Mike Young that his salary was $2mil which placed him just above Danny Manning, who was at $1,830,360. That seemed specific enough to me to be accurate. Through 2024-25. Multiply that by 6 years and you get about $11mil, which is the number we are from sourced posters.
Goodman's number only makes sense if Manning's contract is incentivized. The only other logical explanation is that Manning's agent was able to figure out that Manning's first year on his new contract was going to suck and threw in a big number if fired after Year 1. That would be good-ish news for us in that when Manning is fired next Spring, he'll get $9mil at most.
I just haven't found any confirmation anywhere that Goodman's number is even remotely accurate.