Florida State head coach Mike Norvell gives back a lot.
Norvell will contribute $4.5 million of his salary to the university this year in a restructured one-year contract, sources tell Yahoo Sports — the third such public move by a college football coach in the past two weeks.
The contribution is part of the school’s new Vision of Excellence campaign, designed to raise money as schools prepare to share revenue directly with athletes under the House’s new settlement agreement. The settlement allows each Division I school to share at least $20.5 million with their athletes beginning July 1.
In response to the settlement, coaches are distributing portions of their multi-million dollar salaries. Norvell, who drew interest during Alabama’s head coaching search, was signed to a new contract in the spring that nearly doubled his salary to $9.9 million. By the end of the contract in 2031, the coach will earn nearly $11 million annually.
LSU and coach Brian Kelly announced last week that he would match donations to the LSU collective of up to $1 million — a roundabout way to take a pay cut to contribute to his team’s roster. In Stillwater, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State cut coach Mike Gundy’s salary to put it towards the athlete’s revenue sharing efforts.
Beginning last month with the basketball signing period and continuing through the football signing period in December, some schools have already begun distributing revenue-sharing agreements to high school seniors or college transfers that will go into effect once the settlement is implemented in July.
Other schools deal with this transition period differently – from NIL collective to direct school fees. Their collectives still make deals with athletes. These deals will then be assigned to the university once the settlement is implemented in July. All of these contracts are subject to final approval of the settlement in April.
Schools, which for years have used football profits to subsidize non-revenue-generating Olympic sports, flashy facilities projects and multimillion-dollar coaching contracts, are frantically seeking cash to pay athletes in a competitive recruiting environment. Even some of the most lucrative and valuable football brands are in a cash-strapped position.
They have shelled out millions of dollars for coaching and staff salaries, must continue to run dozens of money-losing athletic programs to comply with Title IX and in some cases face eight-figure annual debt loads for facilities projects.
Managers are working to discover new revenue streams, some of them are even looking for private equity dollars and others are inking naming rights and sponsorship deals.
