Falwell set to get $10.5 million in compensation as he leaves Liberty University

Jerry Falwell Jr. is expected to receive a $10.5 million severance package as he leaves his post as president of Liberty University.

Falwell told The Washington Post that he will receive $2.5 million over the next two years, during which he will not work for a competing institution. He will then receive about $8 million in retirement as part of a contract he signed in July 2019.

“The board was gracious not to challenge that,” Falwell told the newspaper, maintaining “I haven’t done anything.”

Liberty University officially accepted Falwell’s resignation on Tuesday, with the longtime university leader leaving the institution under a cloud of personal scandal.

Falwell first came under scrutiny earlier this month after he posted a photo of himself on a yacht with his arm around a young woman and his pants unzipped.

A longtime business partner then claimed Falwell was a willing participant in a years-long affair involving his wife, Becki Falwell.

The couple has acknowledged the affair but has denied that Jerry Falwell was involved, claiming the former business partner was trying to blackmail the couple — allegations the former associate has dismissed.

Becki Falwell described the extramarital affair as embarrassing in an interview with the Post on Tuesday.

“I wish Christians, and people, would be as forgiving as Christ was,” she said.

The school formally accepted Jerry Falwell’s resignation following confusion after he tendered his resignation and then withdrew it after reports of it were leaked to the news media ahead of Tuesday’s board meeting.

“Our students are ready to be world changers as Champions for Christ. Their spirit is strong as they look to the future. I intend to do all I can to nurture their spiritual side as they grow academically and enjoy all our campus has to offer,” said Jerry Provo, the school’s acting president who took control earlier in August.