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Luke Fickell's buyout revealed after Wisconsin fans turn on him

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Sep 20, 2025 5:34 PM ET

Wisconsin Badgers fans are clearly ready to move on from Luke Fickell, but there is a big reason they might not get their wish anytime soon.

The Badgers found themselves down 20-0 to the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s players were booed off the field at halftime, but the most pointed message was reserved for Fickell.

The student section, which had some patches of empty seats, could be heard chanting “fire Fickell” loud and clear on the NBC broadcast.

“FIRE FICKELL”#Badgers student section voices their displeasure with the Wisconsin head coach as the team heads into the tunnel at halftime down 20-0 to Maryland. pic.twitter.com/RDbtFdOQ5d
— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) September 20, 2025

Things got no better for the Badgers in the second half, and Wisconsin wound up losing 27-10.

Luke Fickell has extremely high buyout

The problem for Wisconsin and their fans is that Fickell would be hugely expensive to fire. Per Pete Nakos of On3, Wisconsin would have to pay Fickell $25.4 million if they were to fire him after the season. It does not become much less manageable after 2026, either, as the school would then owe him $19.2 million.

If the Badgers were to fire Fickell this season, they would be paying out the second-highest buyout in college football history. That is not something they are likely to want to do, no matter how bad things get for the program.

Fickell built Cincinnati into one of the nation’s best programs and was linked to some huge jobs before ultimately making the jump to Wisconsin. He has gone just 15-15 in three-plus seasons with the Badgers, and the Badgers failed to reach a bowl game last season for the first time since 2021.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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