The Big Problem of a Texas Coach Getting Fired AND Paid $75 Million

College football is a big deal. We see how big every Saturday on multiple television channels and streaming services. College football brings in billions combined amongst all of the major schools in the country. The debate for a long time is why student athletes couldn't make any money while playing. That has been resolved recently. While that is a subject for a different day, the news over the weekend of a college coach getting fired and then is paid $75 million just does not sit well with me, and it shouldn't you, especially if you are a supporter of the school.

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Jimbo Fisher Fired from Texas A&M

It was announced Sunday, November 12, that Texas A&M head football coach Jimbo Fisher had been fired. Because of the contract that he signed with the school, he is to receive a buyout of $75 million for his termination. Contract or not, how does someone make $75 million for getting fired? I am not in a job where a contract is required to work so maybe it's just me not understanding how that works. But who reading this would love to get fired from their job and be paid $75 million? I sure would.

Why should a supporter of the school be mad with this contract?

Jimbo Fisher was the head coach at Florida State where he won a national championship in 2013. Because of his success in Tallahassee, Texas A&M lured Fisher away with a 10 year, $75 million contract in 2017. In 2021, Louisiana State University (LSU) was reportedly courting Fisher to coach their football team. Because of that, A&M added another four years to Fisher's contract that increased his salary to $9 million per year.

All of that money comes from Texas A&M's 12th Man Foundation and athletic department funds which are separate from school funds. If you are an athletic donor to Texas A&M, your money just went for not the student athletes but to pay a worthless coach after being fired because of several subpar seasons. Sure, Fisher had an overall record of 45-25 while at A&M. But he never got close to a national championship or even close to winning a Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship.

As a supporter of Texas A&M, you should be mad that your money just got wasted. A LOT of money just got wasted. What makes this even worse is that Jimbo Fisher will sit out the rest of this season, a major school will fire their head coach, Fisher will get that job and he will probably be given a ridiculous contract just like at A&M to be a subpar coach.

Amount of Money Colleges Make

This is a big problem for college football right now and college athletics in general. The billions upon billions of dollars combined these schools bring in for television contracts and merchandising and ticket sales and then tell the players you can't have someone pay you for an autograph session at an event is ludicrous. I think that has changed over the last couple of years, but still.

How College Athletics Should Work Now

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a mafia organization that needs to go away. These schools should just use those billions upon billions of dollars to hire a football coach and the staff and, a conversational take, sign a player to a four year contract to play and be a student at the school. And yes, these contracts should contain stipulations for the students to continue receiving their education for free.

Purity of the Sport

The purity of college athletics is gone, at least in the big schools. You have to look to our junior colleges and division II, and lower, schools to get a pure college sports experience, now. I'll still watch the likes of the University of Texas and others but really these schools should just be considered the minor leagues of the National Football League and other professional sports and the student athletes should be paid like it.