Not all coaching contract extensions carry the same weight.

The fine print can mean the difference between a real commitment and something that seems nice when announced.

In the case of the extension that Baylor announced Sunday evening for football coach Matt Rhule, the intent seems very much to keep Rhule in Waco -- despite interest from the NFL or whatever team may come calling. The extension is through the 2027 season, but there's more.

While saying that the school would never want to force a coach to remain, Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades told Waco-based ESPN Central Texas that the buyout figure is significant.

"The buyout is aggressive," Rhoades told the radio station, "but not necessarily because we're doing it to prohibit Coach Rhule or others from leaving because that's not the right mentality."

ESPN Central Texas reported that the buyout is believed to be one of the highest in college football, something an industry source confirmed Monday afternoon.

Clearly, Baylor is happy with what Rhule has brought -- taking over a scandal-plagued program, bringing about a culture change and seeing meaningful progress on the field. Baylor has gone from one win in the 2017season to 7-6 last season to a 4-0 start this year.

Because of Rhule's success at Baylor and at Temple before that, he was on the short list for jobs with the Colts in 2018 and the Jets earlier this year. Other NFL jobs will open up this year. And what if USC or Penn State, where Rhule played linebacker for Joe Paterno, were to be in the market?

For now, Rhule is signaling he wants to stay in Waco.

On the Big 12 coaches teleconference, he recalled talking with his wife, Julie, about where they wanted to raise their middle-school son and two young daughters. The commitment from Baylor was important, as was the quality of life.

"I knew that it was going to take time to build it," Rhule said. "When you get somewhere you either love it or you hate it or you're somewhere in the middle. And we've gotten here, and we've loved it.

"I like our recruiting base, I like living in Texas, I like coaching in Texas."

Twitter: @ChuckCarltonDMN