The FSU Seminoles lost to the NC State Wolfpack 21-11 on Friday at Carter-Finley Stadium, and their fans are tired of the losing and Mike Norvell. They are now 5-6 overall, 0-4 on the road, and will finish the year 2-6 in ACC play.
Since their 13-1 season in 2023, where they won the ACC, he has gone 7-16 overall and 3-13 in conference play, including eight straight losses on the road. That has caused numerous fans to call for him to be fired, but that is not an easy move.
While their performance over the past two seasons has been unacceptable, it will be expensive to move on from Norvell. According to the USA TODAY football coaching salary database, his buyout is still $58,667,708, as of Dec. 1, 2025.
That is the sixth biggest buyout in the country, behind Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. It is nearly triple the buyout they paid Willie Taggart when they fired him during the 2019 season and would be the second-biggest in college football history, only behind what Texas A&M paid Jimbo Fisher. They owed Taggert over $18 million when they fired him and ultimately hired Norvell.
That number does not include the price to move on from the rest of FSU’s coaching staff or hiring a new coaching staff, which would reportedly cause the total cost to rise to near $100 million. While that would not all be paid next year, it would be a massive expense after they just completed an expensive renovation at Doak Campbell Stadium and built a new football facility, both of which were desperately needed.
However, they have spent two seasons failing to live up to FSU’s standard, and at a certain point, enough has to be enough. Losing can also be expensive as fewer fans attend games or donate to the program, a dangerous proposition in modern college football, and recruiting through the high school and transfer portal can suffer, causing further harm to the program.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: What is Mike Norvell’s buyout with FSU?
Reporting by JD McCarthy, FSU Wire / FSU Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
