The buyout figure written into a college football coach's contract is rarely the number a school actually pays. Offset clauses shrink the bill once a fired coach takes a new job, sometimes dollar for dollar, and many deals include a duty to mitigate that requires coaches to seek work. Buyouts are often starting points in negotiations, one agent told CBS Sports, and the 2025 coaching cycle proved it.
Brian Kelly's split from LSU was the most contentious of the cycle. The school initially argued it had not formally terminated him, tried to fire him for cause and even claimed athletic director Scott Woodward lacked the authority to dismiss him. Around Thanksgiving 2025, Kelly was formally fired without cause, according to a letter obtained by CBS Sports, and he collected his full $54 million as long as he met his obligation to pursue another job. He is now an analyst for CBS Sports.
Penn State owed James Franklin $49 million over six years, the second-largest buyout in college athletics history when he was fired. Before he took the Virginia Tech job, the two sides settled on a much smaller payout of $9 million. 'You go through that deal, and you're thinking, I don't want to let them off the hook financially,' Franklin told USA Today. 'But it wasn't about me penalizing Penn State.'
Kentucky's Mark Stoops will get all $37.7 million owed to him, but on a restructured schedule. Fired on December 1, 2025, he received nearly $4 million up front by December 16, with the balance paid quarterly through April 1, 2031, roughly $6.7 million annually, instead of the full amount within 60 days as originally required. The package includes no offset language, a mutual non-disparagement agreement and cooperation requirements for any future NCAA inquiries. Stoops is now a special assistant at Texas.
Michigan State owed Jonathan Smith 85 percent of his remaining deal through 2030, or $33.5 million. His contract carries offset and mitigation language, but he has not taken a job that triggers it. He must actively pursue comparable work as an NFL or Division I coach, may not structure new compensation to avoid mitigation, and the school can suspend payments if he stops communicating about his search. The buyout stands at $33.5 million, for now.
Florida's Billy Napier had $21 million coming with no offset or mitigation, half due within 30 days of his firing. He is now head coach at James Madison, where the payout effectively let the school sign him at a discount. Auburn's Hugh Freeze, also without offset or mitigation, is not coaching and will receive all $15.4 million. Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy must make reasonable efforts to find comparable work to offset his $15 million, but he is working as an analyst for TNT Sports rather than coaching.
California's Justin Wilcox has not taken another job either, so his $10.9 million remains intact, though offset language applies if he becomes a coach, coordinator, athletic administrator or an officer of an organization that oversees football, such as the NFL, the NCAA or a conference.
Arkansas reached a middle ground with Sam Pittman. He accepted $8.3 million, or 62.5 percent of his remaining salary, instead of the $9.8 million and 75 percent originally owed, giving up $1.5 million in exchange for the removal of a clause that would have forced him to seek work until age 65. The school owed the higher rate because Pittman was above .500 when fired; had the losing continued, the obligation would have dropped to 50 percent.
The strangest case belonged to Brent Pry. Virginia Tech fired him as head coach, then rehired him in December as defensive coordinator under Franklin. His buyout, originally just over $6 million payable through 2027, was amended to $3.1 million, while his coordinator salary for 2026 and 2027 totals about $3 million. The school pays roughly the same amount through different means, and Pry could come out ahead with performance bonuses plus his $2 million salary for 2028.
