Michigan AD Warde Manuel Voluntarily Takes 5% Pay Cut Through 2020 Amid COVID-19

University of Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has taken a voluntary 5 percent pay cut through the 2020 calendar year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, he announced in a statement Monday:

"I have not yet asked anyone else in our department to consider voluntary reductions in their salary," Manuel relayed in the statement. "Our head coaches have ALL been supportive of everything I have asked them to do as we deal with our current situation and our next 12-18 months."

MLive.com's Aaron McMann added:

"Manuel, who is in the fifth year of his original five-year appointment, was set to make a salary of $990,000 for the 2019-20 fiscal year, according to public documents. A 5 percent reduction would net a loss of $49,500 for Manuel over the course of 12 months; so a seventh-month cut (from May to December) would net an approximate loss of $28,875."

The university also announced a hiring freeze in an email to faculty and staff Monday, per MLive.com's Steve Marowski, that disclosed an anticipated financial loss between $400 million and $1 billion by the beginning of 2021. As a result, employees won't see an increase in base salary until at least the end of the 2020-21 budget year.