College athletics money, from public records
Public Cap
What can your team actually afford?
Power 4 football · revenue sharing · what they can spend · NIL on file.
Hot-seat coach buyouts
Buyouts for ten football coaches on the hot seat, each with its source and date. A missing figure stays blank. It is the cost of a firing, not yearly pay.
Where does your school rank? Alabama ranks #1 of 9 in hot-seat buyout.
Kalen DeBoer at Alabama: over $67.5 million.
Buyout calculator · Paid buyouts (already fired, e.g. Brian Kelly at LSU)
| Coach | School | Buyout | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Schiano | Rutgers | $17.3M after 2026 season | As of Jan. 1, 2027 (if fired after the 2026 season) — In-season buyout is still pending: published reports range from about $18M to $18.6M. | CBS Sports (Sept. 11, 2026) |
| Shane Beamer | South Carolina | $22,550,000 | as of December 1, 2026 | USA TODAY (Sept. 26, 2026), quoting the Beamer contract |
| Mike Norvell | Florida State | $48,085,719 | as of October 23, 2026 It drops by about $34K per day, not per game. | FSU 7th Amendment to 2019 EA (Dec. 13, 2024) via DocumentCloud / Tallahassee Democrat |
| Dabo Swinney | Clemson | $57,000,000 | as of January 1, 2026 Figure older than 9 months | Clemson 2022 BOT term sheet (Sept. 2022) — binding until a restated EA |
| Deion Sanders | Colorado | $33,000,000 | if fired in 2026 | Denver Post (Sean Keeler, Feb. 28, 2026) |
| Barry Odom | Purdue | $20,625,000 | if fired Dec. 1, 2026 | Indianapolis Star (Nathan Baird, Dec. 10, 2024), syndicated by Yahoo Sports |
| Steve Sarkisian | Texas | $50,150,000 | if fired after the 2026 season | CBS Sports (Robby Kalland, Oct. 17, 2026) |
| Kalen DeBoer | Alabama | over $67.5 million | if fired in November 2026 al.com’s floor for a November 2026 firing; 90% of remaining pay at $12.5 million a year through Jan. 31, 2033, no offset. Not an exact dollar. | al.com (Matt Stahl, Apr. 22, 2026, 5:15 p.m.) — DeBoer buyout terms under the April 22, 2026 extension |
| Matt Campbell | Penn State | more than $62M | if fired this week Sportico (Eben Novy-Williams, Oct. 19, 2026): more than $62M if fired this week. Fully guaranteed deal of at least $70.5 million over eight years. Term-sheet start of 2026 remains $70,500,000. The file has no daily-proration clause. | Sportico (Eben Novy-Williams, Oct. 19, 2026) |
| Lance Leipold | Kansas | $22,930,000 | as of December 1, 2025 Figure older than 9 months USA TODAY Heat Check (John Brice, Oct. 19, 2026) puts Lance Leipold on the hot seat. That piece prints no buyout. The dollar here is the USA TODAY database figure already on this site, $22,930,000 as of Dec. 1, 2025. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/10/19/college-football-coach-hot-seat-tracker-mike-locksley-deion-sanders-mike-norvell-lance-leipold/92321833007/ | USA TODAY coaches salary database, buyout as of Dec. 1, 2025 |