Schools set to pay at least $200 million in buyouts to hire and fire college football coaches

Major-college athletics departments likely will end up spending a combined total of at least $200 million in connection with football coaching and staff changes made during and after the 2023 season, a USA TODAY Sports analysis has found.

The figure is based on commitments related to the firings and hirings of head coaches, assistant coaches and strength coaches, according to school documents obtained through open-records requests and e-mails with athletics department officials.

In addition to paying buyouts to coaches they fire, or to assistants they do not retain after a head-coaching change, schools routinely cover buyouts that newly hired coaches may owe to their previous employer as compensation for breaking those contracts. This has become increasingly pricey for schools that fill a head-coaching position by hiring another school’s head coach. And it has become increasingly common for schools seeking to fill assistant coaching positions.

This type of spending comes against the backdrop of increasing calls for college athletes to receive greater benefits from their schools. This includes NCAA President Charlie Baker’s recent proposal for a new competitive subdivision whose schools would be required to put at least $30,000 into “an enhanced educational trust fund” for at least half of their athletes.

The overall buyout total for college football coaches

The final overall total for 2023 cycle will not be known for several years. Some amounts owed to fired coaches are set to be made over time, and many of those amounts are subject to coaches having to make good-faith efforts to find new jobs that create offsetting income.

USA TODAY Sports’ estimated total takes into account offsets known so far and still found more than $191 million in active firing and hiring costs through records from public schools only….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/schools-set-pay-least-200-113917351.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-01-18 11:39:17

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