According to USA Today, “David Brandon may be the nation’s only CEO who says leaving a job with total annual compensation of $2.6 million for one that pays up to $825,000 is a promotion.”

“But Brandon says he barely thought twice before deciding to step down from Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) after 11 years running the franchise delivery giant and sign a five-year contract as athletic director for his alma mater, the University of Michigan. In part, that’s because the new job he starts in March will take him full circle — returning him to the place where he played college football, served on the Board of Regents and that he relied on to save the lives of his twin sons and to treat him for cancer. ‘This feels to me like just such an appropriate next step. It’s leadership, but a different kind of leadership,’ said Brandon, 57, discussing the impending move during an interview at Domino’s headquarters, a few miles from the university’s main campus. “This has provided me with an opportunity to connect with a place that has been incredibly important to my life.’ Starting with the stepping stones to becoming a CEO. Brandon came to the University of Michigan‘s main campus in Ann Arbor on a football scholarship in 1970 after winning varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball at South Lyon High School. He arrived as Glenn “Bo” Schembechler began a career that would make him the top winning coach in school history. But Brandon’s on-field time would barely rate an asterisk in Schembechler’s career. Although he got three Big Ten Conference championship rings, the former high school star quarterback says he played only a few minutes of mop-up time as a 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end. Still, the experience proved valuable.”