How Texas A&M will pay 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 kicked off the 2021 season, the program’s outlook was rosy. Fisher’s contract explains the buyout’s payment schedule as follows: “University shall pay twenty five percent of such amount in a lump sum within days of the effective date of termination of the Agreement, and the remaining balance shall be paid to Coach in equal annual payments beginning one hundred twenty days after the effective date of the termination of this agreement and continuing through the original end date of this Agreement, December 31, 2031.” What does that mean for Texas A&M now that it is firing Fisher? Here’s a breakdown of what the payment structure will be like for the rest of Fisher’s contract, which runs through Dec. 31, 2031: Total buyout: $77,562,500 Lump sum owed : $19,390,625 Eight payments, starting no later than March 11, 2024 and continuing annually through 2031: $7,271,484 Fisher has no duty to mitigate his salary by finding another job, so if he is coaching somewhere in the near future, his new salary will not offset what Texas A&M owes him. The athletic department will pay the annual distributions to Fisher for the rest of the contract “by growing our revenues and adjusting our annual operating budget accordingly.” Even the short-term money that Texas A&M owes outpaces the largest buyout known to be paid to a fired coach: $21.4 million to former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.