Billy Napier 'Would Be Owed About $20.4M If He's' Fired by Florida amid HC Contract

Should he get fired this season, Florida head coach Billy Napier will be a reminder that losing your job isn't the worst thing when you're leading a major program.

Mark Schlabach of ESPN wrote Monday that "Napier would be owed about $20.4 million if he's let go." On3's Pete Nakos outlined how his contract entitles him to 85 percent of his outstanding compensation if he's ousted.

The Gators' 18-16 defeat to South Florida put Napier squarely on the hot seat ahead of a brutal stretch for his team. Florida plays No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Miami, No. 7 Texas and No. 16 Texas A&M over the next month. A date with No. 6 Georgia also looms on Nov. 1.

In short, the outlook for Napier is worrying.

His buyout underlines a problem some schools are now facing, though. It's simply becoming too expensive to fire an underperforming head coach.

USC's Lincoln Riley and Florida State's Mike Norvell are two of the notable examples where disgruntled fans quickly learned a coaching change was basically cost prohibitive.

Not everybody has Texas A&M's booster base, which found the money to pay Jimbo Fisher over $76 million to go away in 2023.

In the case of Napier, Florida would be on the hook for a $13 million buyout in 2026 and then $6.1 million in 2027. Waiting another season would if nothing else lower the financial burden on the university.

One consequence of the Gators' brutal schedule is that there are multiple opportunities for the coaching staff to reassure fans and the administration the team is still moving in the right direction.

Winning eight games wouldn't be an ideal outcome, but taking down some combination of LSU, Texas, Miami, Georgia and Tennessee while going 8-4 gives you something to keep building on.

Should Florida bottom out, however, athletic director Scott Stricklin could have a difficult decision on his hands.