Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher looks on during the third quarter against New Mexico Lobos. Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Texas A&M Spent Absurd Amount of Money on Fired Coaches

Originally posted on Texas A&M Aggies on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated May 19, 2025 7:02 PM ET

The Texas A&M Aggies athletic department knew exactly what it was getting into when it fired head football coach Jimbo Fisher.

Fisher, who won a national championship at Florida State in 2013, failed to bring the same results to College Station, finishing with a 45-25 record (27-21 in SEC play) as head coach of the Aggies. After a disastrous 2022 season that saw the Aggies finish with their first losing record since 2009 and a 6-4 start to the 2023 campaign, A&M finally decided to move on.

The cost of that move, however, was and still is enormous. According to financial records from all 15 SEC public schools (Vanderbilt is private) obtained by AL.com, the Texas A&M athletic department spent an absurd $27.5 million in severance spending in Fiscal Year 2024 (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024).

For comparison, the next-closest SEC school in severance spending is Auburn at $10.8 million. The only other schools spending more than $5 million in severance spending are Texas ($7.2 million) and Mississippi State (~$5 million).

Pretty much all of that money went toward Fisher's $77.5 million buyout, far and away the largest in college football history. His contract reportedly stated that he would be owed $19.2 million within 60 days of his firing, plus $7.2 million annually through 2031. So, this is just the beginning.

This comes at a time where the 12th Man Foundation, the athletic department's fundraising arm, saw its revenue drop by over $25 million compared to last year.

"According to a copy of the organization’s latest tax return, obtained by Sportico, the 12th Man Foundation reported bringing in $95.7 million in FY24, set off against $116 million in expenditures," Sportico's Daniel Libit wrote last week. "It brought in $121 million in total revenue for FY23, according to its previous IRS filings. The latest returns show the foundation’s overall reported shortfall owed primarily to a decrease in contributions and grants, which went from $113 million in FY23 to $85 million in FY24."

While Fisher is comfortably sitting back and collecting millions of dollars to not coach, A&M's athletic department has no choice but to prepare for the future.

This article first appeared on Texas A&M Aggies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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