Luke Fickell buyout: What it would cost Wisconsin to move on from struggling Badgers football coach
Wisconsin's third-year coach is just 15-17 and staring down a brutal Big Ten schedule
By
David Cobb
•
1 min read
Luke Fickell's directionless Wisconsin tenure hit another deflating speed bump Saturday when the Badgers were blown out 37-0 at home by Iowa in the program's first home shutout since 1980. The loss dropped Fickell to 15-17 overall and 8-13 in Big Ten play with the Badgers since a successful six-year run with Cincinnati that made him one of the hottest commodities in college coaching.
On Saturday night, the Badgers fell behind 20-0 as quarterback Hunter Simmons turned the ball over three times in the first half and just could never recover in the latest embarrassment for Fickell's program. Following a 2-0 start, the Badgers have dropped four straight and are 0-3 in Big Ten play with losses to Maryland, Michigan and Iowa by a combined margin of 88-20.
Things won't get easier from here for Fickell, who has a long road ahead with matchups against Big Ten frontrunners Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana in the coming weeks for the reeling Badgers. Barring a significant trajectory change, Fickell's status in Madison is on extremely shaky grounds.
What is Luke Fickell's contract buyout at Wisconsin?
Fickell's contract calls for him to be owed 80% of what's remaining on his initial deal. At season's end, he will have four years and approximately $31.5 million left on the seven-year contract he agreed to in November of 2022. That would put his season-ending buyout figure at approximately $25 million.
Though Fickell has subsequently been extended through the 2031 season, extensions do not impact his buyout. If Fickell wanted to increase his buyout, he would need a new contract. If the Badgers wanted to fire Fickell, they would be paying one of the largest buyout's in the sport's history.
Texas A&M famously put itself on the hook for a $77.5 million buyout of coach Jimbo Fisher when it fired him in November of 2023. The largest buyout in Big Ten history came in 2023, when the Hoosiers fired coach Tom Allen when he was owed $16 million.
Fickell's buyout would be mitigated by his next coaching salary, which could lessen the Badgers' burden if they were to fire Fickell and he were to quickly find work elsewhere.
