How Much Money Will CFB Teams Pay in Contract Buyouts After Brian Kelly Fired by LSU?

There have now been nine head-coach firings during the 2025 college football season after Brian Kelly was dismissed on Sunday.

Assuming Kelly gets the $53-54 million buyout on his contract, FBS schools will have dished out around $169 million in buyouts this cycle.

That's... a lot of money being paid to fired coaches.

To recap, this season alone LSU has fired Kelly, Florida dismissed Billy Napier, Colorado State axed Jay Norvell, Penn State ousted James Franklin, UCLA moved on from DeShaun Foster, Virginia Tech bid adieu to Brent Pry, Oklahoma State ditched Mike Gundy, Oregon State canned Trent Bray, Arkansas cut ties with Sam Pittman and UAB waved goodbye to Trent Dilfer.