2025 could bring historic buyout total for fired college football coaches

Could this be the most expensive coaching carousel in college football history? With more than $100 million already committed to fired head coaches — and more likely to come — FBS schools may top $250 million in buyouts this year.

So far, nine head coaches — including Penn State’s James Franklin and Florida’s Billy Napier — have been fired. The combined buyout figure of all of them is $114.55 million, according to data from USA Today and Front Office Sports.

Other head coaches who may be on the hot seat include North Carolina’s Bill Belichick ($20.83M buyout), Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell ($27.49M), Auburn’s Hugh Freeze ($15.44M), Florida State’s Mike Norvell ($58.67) and Kentucky’s Mark Stoops ($37.69M), among others. If those five head coaches were to be fired, the total buyouts would reach $274.67 million, shattering a record.

According to data from the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, between 2005 and 2024, the highest yearly severance for FBS coaches occurred last year ($188.15M). That data, though, includes head coaches, assistant coaches and administrative staff.

The $114.55M in buyouts accumulated this season is only for head coaches; that amount doesn’t include assistants and other staff members.

Buyouts of nine head coaches fired this season

Trent Bray, Oregon State, $3.9 millionTrent Dilfer, UAB, $2.82 millionDeShaun Foster , UCLA, $6.43 millionJames Franklin, Penn State, $48.67 millionMike Gundy, Oklahoma State, $15 millionBilly Napier , Florida, $20.43 millionJay Norvell, Colorado State, $1.5 millionSam Pittman, Arkansas, $9.8 millionBrent Pry, Virginia Tech, $6 million

5 CFB seasons with highest severance amounts

2024: $188.15 million2022: $159.59 million2018: $156.19 million2023: $147.21 million2021: $116.83 million

The buyouts for the other 15 years in the Knight-Newhouse database were all under $100 million annually.

More recent seasons have larger dollar amounts, in part, because of inflation, along with the overall growth of the sport. Factors such as an expanded College Football Playoff and massive television contracts, especially in the Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference, have led to a ballooning of the salaries for head coaches and their assistants.

However, these salaries are expected to be reined amid the revenue-sharing era. With the multi-billion-dollar House of Representatives settlement, schools are now paying their athletes directly, and to stay competitive with revenue-sharing, programs may have to lower the salaries to their coaches.

The remainder of the 2025 campaign must play out. The head-coaching carousel should be chaotic this offseason. And the money paid out for head coaches’ buyouts could end up being historic.