This is correct. Wellman decided early on the he would be keeping Manning after this season. So he floated the $18,000,000 buyout rumor to provide a justification for keeping Manning. He let everyone one in the AD believe that the buyout number was $18,000,000 so of course it was confirmed by "sources" Only Wellman, Hatch, and a very few others know the actual contract details.
If this were true then Currie leaves no hope to be worth a shit moving forward. This would mean he is in camp Manning and if not then he would have to fire his ass in May.