Booming buyouts: Average cost of firing college football coach continues to rise

Football Bowl Subdivision schools shelled out more than $125 million in buyout payments to departed head coaches last season, led by the $77 million that Texas A&M paid to fire Jimbo Fisher without cause.

And the potential buyouts in coaching contracts are getting more exorbitant every year, according to Paste BN Sports' annual look at college football head coaches' compensation.

A whopping 29 public-school coaches in the FBS would be owed $20 million or more if they were fired without cause this year, as of Dec. 1 − more than triple the number of coaches who cleared that bar when Paste BN Sports started tracking coaches' buyouts in 2017. Five of the 29 would be due what once seemed like an unfathomable payout of $60 million or more, including Kirby Smart, whose buyout at Georgia is $118.1 million.

While the average buyout figures across both the FBS and power conferences saw only a marginal increase over last year, they have gone up consistently over each of the past seven years. The average buyout for FBS coaches is now $15.6 million, while for Power Four coaches, it is now $28.7 million − a figure that, in fairness, is skewed by the massive buyouts of Smart and others.

Many coaches have offset and mitigation language in their contracts that would require them to look for a new job upon being fired and possibly reduce the buyout amount they are owed. But in some cases, like Fisher's deal at Texas A&M, Fisher had no duty to mitigate and the school was not entitled to any offset.

"The (college sports) industry does a great job of generating revenue and finding revenue when they need to, but they do a terrible job of managing expenses," said David Ridpath, a sports business professor at Ohio University.

"Not paying these exorbitant buyouts − millions of dollars for coaches not to coach − that's a lot of money that could be used for lifetime scholarships, paying the players, all those things."

Buyout commitments have continued to surge even as the financial landscape of college sports has started to shift. Athletes are now able to profit off their name, image and likeness, and a pending $2.8 billion settlement would enable athletics departments to funnel millions of dollars every year directly to athletes.

Ridpath, who is also a longtime member of a college sports reform advocacy organization called The Drake Group, said he doesn't think these broader changes will impact coaches' buyouts − at least in the near term.

"My hope is that, maybe down the road five years from now, if we get to unionization and bargaining, then we might actually see a market correction," he said.

A quick rundown of the biggest buyouts in college football in 2024:

Kirby Smart's buyout at Georgia: $118.1 million

The Bulldogs recently extended Smart's contract by two years and upped his annual salary to $13 million. Under the terms of his most recent contract, he would be due the entirety of what's left on his contract if fired without cause at any point over the next four years − which, as of Dec. 1, would be a whopping $118.1 million. It's the largest buyout for a public-school coach in the FBS since Paste BN Sports started tracking buyout figures in 2017.

Kalen DeBoer's buyout at Alabama: $70.1 million

DeBoer will be due 90% of the remaining value of his contract if he is fired without cause, which would be north of $70 million as of Dec. 1. And although Alabama's loss to Vanderbilt on Oct. 5 was certainly a punch to the gut, it appears unlikely the Crimson Tide will trigger this buyout any time soon. DeBoer, the former Washington coach, is just six games into his stint with the team after being hired to replace seven-time national champion Nick Saban.

Mike Norvell's buyout at Florida State: $63.8 million

The Seminoles gave Norvell a massive contract extension after they just missed the College Football Playoff a year ago − significantly increasing his annual salary and, in turn, his buyout, which is 85% of the value left on the deal. Unfortunately for Florida State, the metaphorical tide has since turned. Norvell's 2024 team has been among the worst in the Power Four, starting the season by losing five of its first six games − including a 20-12 loss at home to Memphis, the Group of Five team that used to be Norvell's employer.

Brian Kelly's buyout at LSU: $61.7 million

LSU has issued buyout payments to (or reached settlements with) each of its past two coaches, Ed Orgeron and Les Miles. If Kelly were to follow suit, he would be owed a little more than $61 million. That seems pretty far-fetched, of course, given the Tigers' consistency under the former Notre Dame coach. They finished 10-4 and 10-3 in Kelly's first two seasons at the helm and are sitting at 5-1 this year.

Dabo Swinney's buyout at Clemson: $60 million

Swinney's buyout figure for 2024 is among the highest in the country but actually a slight step down from the $64 million it was a year ago. The longtime Clemson coach has had a projected buyout of $35 million or more every year since 2017 − though, like many on this list, his stability at the school has never really been in question. Swinney has steered the Tigers to nine wins or more for 13 consecutive seasons, winning a pair of national titles along the way.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.