GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Despite stepping down from his position, former University of Florida President Ben Sasse will keep his $1 million salary at least until 2028.
His contract addendum with the university states that he will receive his hefty paycheck since he will still serve as "president emeritus, professor and external advisor to Board of Trustees Chairperson Mori Hosseini," starting on Aug. 1. He will continue to receive his base salary of $1.04 million until February 2028 or until he gets a different full-time job or resigns.
Recently, Sasse has come under criticism for spending millions of dollars during his nearly two years as president. The student-run newspaper called The Independent Florida Alligator found he spent $17.3 million during his first year compared to the $5.6 million spent by his predecessor Kent Fuchs in his final year.
He defended his spending in a lengthy statement on X where he also addressed his ongoing employment at the university.
"Our board leadership extended me full severance and an ongoing role with the university until at least 2028, suggesting no concerns on their part," he wrote.
He also defended the hiring and consulting contracts which came under scrutiny since he reportedly gave high-paying jobs to former members of his U.S. Senate staff and Republican allies.
DeSantis' office issued a statement saying that the governor “take(s) the stewardship of state funds very seriously and (has) already been in discussions with leadership at the university and with the Board of Governors to look into the matter.”
As a part of the contract, he will also receive medical, dental, life and disability insurance. In a separate letter from April, Hosseini wrote that even if Sasse left the university, they would still provide current health care coverage to him, his wife and kids until he to a new job with coverage.
"We want to ensure you and your family are provided continuity of health care, even if you were to depart the University after your Presidency," Hosseini wrote.
Sasse announced his resignation at the end of July, citing his wife's recent diagnosis with epilepsy. In a post on X, he wrote that he needed to take a step back and focus on his family.
Following his announcement, the Alligator found out he hired many of his former staff with paychecks with some doubling the amount of money they made working for the federal government. He also created new positions and some of his appointees were working from out of state. He also awarded about $2.5 million in other consulting contracts, the Alligator reported.
Fuchs returned to the position as interim president starting earlier this month. He was previously president for eight years and is credited with helping boost UF into the top 10 public universities in the closely watched U.S. News & World Report rankings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.