Fascinating read. Leath sure hung AU out getting flat out “Sextoned” in 2017.
https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/32355679/dead-money?appearance=dark&appsrc=sc
Excerpt:
Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson famously warned mammas to not let their babies grow up to be cowboys. The country music stars might have encouraged them to be fired college coaches instead.
According to an ESPN analysis of financial records of athletics departments at public universities, FBS programs spent more than $533.6 million in dead money in an 11-year period from Jan. 1, 2010, to Jan. 31, 2021. That's money those programs owed coaches in football and men's and women's basketball who were fired without cause with time left on their contracts. The severance payments were made over several years or, in a few cases, in one lump sum.
Remarkably, the dead money total is actually much more than that. The financial records did not include payments for many of the coaches who were fired during or after the 2020 football and 2020-21 basketball seasons. In football alone, FBS schools committed another $107.6 million in severance pay before mitigation to fired coaches and their staffs in 2020.
Auburn
$31.2M
Talk about being all-in. More than $18 million (and counting) has been paid to Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn.
Nebraska
$25.8M
Bo Pelini and Mike Riley were fired within a year of extensions. The cost for those mistakes: about $12.8 million.
Texas
$21.5M
Everything is bigger in Texas, including buyouts. The total doesn't even include $24 million owed to Tom Herman and staff.
Ole Miss
$20.4M
The Rebels spent $8.7 million to move on from football coaches Houston Nutt and Matt Luke; letting Hugh Freeze go didn't cost a penny.
https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/32355679/dead-money?appearance=dark&appsrc=sc
Excerpt:
THE BOOM OF DEAD MONEY IN COLLEGE SPORTS
Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson famously warned mammas to not let their babies grow up to be cowboys. The country music stars might have encouraged them to be fired college coaches instead.
According to an ESPN analysis of financial records of athletics departments at public universities, FBS programs spent more than $533.6 million in dead money in an 11-year period from Jan. 1, 2010, to Jan. 31, 2021. That's money those programs owed coaches in football and men's and women's basketball who were fired without cause with time left on their contracts. The severance payments were made over several years or, in a few cases, in one lump sum.
Remarkably, the dead money total is actually much more than that. The financial records did not include payments for many of the coaches who were fired during or after the 2020 football and 2020-21 basketball seasons. In football alone, FBS schools committed another $107.6 million in severance pay before mitigation to fired coaches and their staffs in 2020.
TOP 10 SCHOOLS
Chasing glory and championships is expensive in college sports. Just ask the biggest spenders in the FBS, who have combined to dole out more than $205 million in dead money since 2010. If your last mistake is indeed your best teacher, then these schools have failed time and time again.Auburn
$31.2M
Talk about being all-in. More than $18 million (and counting) has been paid to Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn.
Nebraska
$25.8M
Bo Pelini and Mike Riley were fired within a year of extensions. The cost for those mistakes: about $12.8 million.
Texas
$21.5M
Everything is bigger in Texas, including buyouts. The total doesn't even include $24 million owed to Tom Herman and staff.
Ole Miss
$20.4M
The Rebels spent $8.7 million to move on from football coaches Houston Nutt and Matt Luke; letting Hugh Freeze go didn't cost a penny.
