Texas’ Tom Herman Brings Fired Coaches’ Payday to $65 Million
- Auburn’s Gus Malzahn got biggest buyout among football chiefs
- Three coaches received payments of more than $15 million
The University of Texas parted ways with its head football coach, Tom Herman, on Jan. 2 after four mostly unremarkable seasons. What is remarkable is the $15 million buyout -- with an additional $9 million to be paid to his assistants -- the school will have to fork over to get out of the final three years of the coach’s contract.
That sum brings the total buyouts paid to Football Bowl Subdivision coaches this season to about $65 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News, even as many gridiron powerhouses are claiming revenue shortfalls that top $100 million each because of losses to the Covid-19 pandemic.