How will Texas A&M pay for Jimbo Fisher’s $77.6 million buyout, the largest in college football history?

When Texas A&M extended Jimbo Fisher’s contract just days before the Aggies started the 2021 season, the program’s outlook was rosy.

The team was just coming off its best season under Fisher, a 9-1 campaign with a top-five finish in the polls, only the second such finish since he joined the SEC in 2012. Recruiting was on the rise, and the class Which Fisher and his fellow recruiters were assembling that summer would eventually become the highest-rated of the era of online recruiting ratings.

After signing Fisher to a 10-year, $75 million contract in 2017 to lure him away from Florida State, Texas A&M doubled down on his contract in September 2021, extending his contract through 2031 for up to roughly $95 million, which is fully guaranteed.

“Coach Fisher continues to prove that he is building our program for long-term success and is a great fit for Texas A&M,” athletic director Ross Bjork said in a statement accompanying news of Fisher’s extension. “There is momentum throughout all phases of our program and we are excited about what lies ahead in Aggie Football.”

In a statement of his own that praised A&M’s investment and support, Fisher concluded, “It is an honor to be the head football coach at Texas A&M and while I am proud of the strides we have made, there is no way we can do it yet!”

After more than two years, Fisher was done. Texas A&M fired Fisher on Sunday. The Aggies went 45-25 in the six seasons Fisher took over.

Since the program peaked in 2020 and signed an extension, Texas A&M is 19-15 overall, 10-13 against SEC competition and 12-14 against Power 5 opponents. Since 2021, the Aggies are 4-10 in Games were decided by eight points or fewer and he lost seven such games in a row. Texas A&M has not won a true road game since Oct. 16, 2021, after nine straight losses. The Aggies are a disappointing 6-4 this fall.

With the Aggies showing no significant positive progress in Year 6 of the Fisher era, Texas A&M decided to part ways with Fisher, despite having more than $77 million remaining on his contract. Although Fisher’s massive acquisition has become a popular topic in discussions of the Aggies’ predicament, there’s one aspect of it that often gets overlooked: They don’t have to branch out all at once.

Fisher’s contract explains the acquisition payment schedule as follows:

“The University shall pay twenty-five percent (25%) of this amount in one lump sum within (60) days from the effective date of termination of the Agreement, and the remaining balance shall be paid to the coach in equal annual installments beginning one hundred and twenty (120) days after the effective date of termination of this Agreement.” It continues until the original expiration date of this agreement, December 31, 2031.

What does this mean for Texas A&M now that it has fired Fisher? The Aggies don’t have to write Fisher a $77 million check right away.

In the short term, Texas A&M must write Fisher two checks within four months. The first, due within 60 days of contract termination, will be for $19.3 million. The second payment, which is due within 120 days of termination, will be the first of eight annual payments for the remainder of the contract: $7.2 million.

In total, the Aggies owe Fisher $26.6 million come March 11, 2024. It’s certainly not chump change, but it’s more manageable than if the entire contract were due up front. The rest will be paid in annual installments of $7.2 million from 2025 through 2031, meaning the Aggies will essentially be paying two head coaches for the next eight years.

Fisher’s predecessor, Kevin Sumlin, had a lump sum to terminate his deal: the entire remainder of the five-year, $30 million contract he signed late in the 2013 season was due to him within 60 days. When he was fired after the 2017 season, the school fulfilled that obligation with a one-time $9.9 million payment in early 2018. According to the Dallas Morning News.

Here’s a breakdown of what the pay structure will be for the remainder of Fisher’s contract, which runs through December 31, 2031:

Total acquisition: $77,562,500
Lump sum (25%) due (within 60 days): $19,390,625
Eight installments, starting no later than March 11, 2024 and continuing annually until 2031: $7,271,484

Fisher doesn’t have to dilute his salary by finding another job, so if he’s coaching somewhere in the near future, his new salary won’t make up for what Texas A&M owes him.

Asked whether Texas A&M expects to pay the full buyout value, Bjork said Sunday: “There are different parameters set forth in the contract. Those mechanisms will be worked out once we communicate with (Fisher’s) representation.” Fisher is represented by Jimmy Sexton.

And for those who think Texas A&M supporters are footing the bill, think again. Program sources said The athlete Several times in the past year that if Fisher was fired, donors would not be the ones to pay the buyout. Bjork confirmed this on Sunday.

“Texas A&M Athletics and the 12th Man Foundation will be the sole sources of funds to cover these relocation costs,” Bjork said.

The 12th Man Foundation is the primary fundraising arm of A&M athletics and is closely aligned with the school (its headquarters are just steps from Kyle Field) but is technically a separate 501(c)3 entity. Bjork said the 12th Man Foundation It will use unrestricted funds to cover the initial payment of $19.3 million. The athletic department will pay Fisher’s annual dividend for the rest of the decade “by increasing our revenues and adjusting our annual operating budget accordingly.”

Even the short-term money Texas A&M owes exceeds the largest known buyout paid for a fired coach: $21.4 million for former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. And that doesn’t take into account the money the program would require to hire a new head coach and staff, which would be significant.

If the potential new coach’s salary and personnel pool meets what A&M currently pays its employees ($17 million total annually), making the change would require more than $40 million in payroll over the next calendar year when accounting for the Fisher acquisition. Even for an athletic department as flush as the Aggies — Texas A&M had $193 million in revenue and $177 million in expenses in 2022 — that’s hard to stomach.

However, A&M’s leadership has seen enough. Fisher is out, but the Aggies haven’t finished paying him yet, and won’t for another eight years.

(Photo: Bob Levy/Getty Images)