On Monday morning, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported that Florida State head coach Mike Norvell is restructuring his contract with the Seminoles to help the university’s bottom line in a major way.
According to the report, Norvell will contribute $4.5 million of his salary as part of a one-year restructured deal to help FSU get its revenue-sharing plan set up.
Norvell’s $4.5M contribution is “part of the school’s new Vision of Excellence campaign intended to raise money as schools gear up to share revenue directly with athletes under the new House settlement agreement.”
Norvell isn’t the first, or even the second, major college football coach to make a public reformation to his pay in order to help fund his team’s future roster.
A few weeks ago, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy reached an agreement with the Cowboys to restructure his contract and allow the university to reallocate funds toward athlete revenue-sharing.
Gundy’s restructured deal comes on the heels of an 0-9 record in Big 12 play and the first bowl-less season for Oklahoma State football since 2005.
Meanwhile, Norvell’s financial contribution for the year comes just after his team set the all-time record in win differential from one season to the next, going 13-1 last year and just 2-10 this year — the program’s worst season in more than 50 years.
However, it hasn’t just been teams that suffered all-time bad seasons. LSU head coach Brian Kelly announced last week that he would match donations to LSU’s collective of up to $1 million — The Tigers just wrapped an 8-4 season.
So, are we seeing schools use leverage to force coaches into less money? What’s the deal?
The reality is that schools around the country are going to have to start tightening their belts with the House vs. NCAA settlement becoming finalized later this year.
On July 1, 2025, every Division I school in the NCAA will be permitted to share at least $20.5 million with athletes, and that money doesn’t just appear out of thin air. These coaches, among others certain to follow, are donating their money to the cause because football is expected to be the lion’s share of those profits — as much as $17 million — according to Dellenger’s report.
Not every school is going about it this way, as some are still leaning on third-party collectives to handle the business side of things right now. There’s no handbook in place for a situation like the one we’re heading into.
That uncertainty, and the uncharted waters ahead, are what have so many administrators and coaches wondering what they can do help.
Right now, it appears forking over more money than the average American will ever see just to help pay for a portion of next year’s roster is the best move.
