When Florida State hired Mike Norvell in December of 2019, there was hope for the future at Florida State, of more conference championships and also more National Championships. However, almost six years later, the Seminoles only have two ACC title game appearances, one ACC Championship, and no National Championships.
The Seminoles don't even have a College Football Playoff appearance after Florida State was slitted from making the playoff in 2023 after an undefeated regular season with an ACC championship that ended with an injury to star quarterback Jordan Travis. The Seminoles were then beaten by the Georgia Bulldogs in beatdown fashion, and ever since then, it has been downhill at Florida State.
The 2024 season was not anything that Norvell or Florida State is going to want to remember or repeat what happened. The Seminoles went 2-10 overall and 1-7 in the ACC and were never able to find any footing throughout the season. Norvell has worked hard this offseason to ensure there isn't a repeat, but some choices are questionable.
Bringing in former Auburn and UCF head coach Gus Malzahn as the offensive coordinator definitely seems like a risk, with how often he had to give up play-calling duties at both Auburn and UCF because the offenses were that bad. Maybe a coordinator position will work for him, though.
Norvell has to make something of the 2025 season, or he could see an early exit from Florida State. The Seminoles certainly wouldn't want that, though, as firing Norvell would come with a buyout, and a hefty one at that.
What is Mike Norvell's buyout at Florida State, and how much will it hurt the Seminoles?
Mike Norvell is currently contracted with FSU until 2031, so if there are going to be more seasons like the one in 2024, Florida State fans may want to reconsider buying season tickets. The Seminoles are hoping Norvell can return to his winning ways, but if he doesn't and the administration decides to part ways early, Florida State would have a lot to pay out.
With Norvell being contracted until 2031, if Florida State were to terminate him before then, they would owe him 85% of his total compensation. Right now, if Norvell were to be fired, he would be owed $63 million, the highest buyout in the ACC right now. Florida State did it to themselves, giving Norvell a hefty new contract extension right after the 2023 ACC Championship season, before everything fell apart.
Now, Norvell did agree to a one-year restructuring on his contract, where he gave $4.5 million back to Florida State to help launch a new university initiative that is aimed at raising money for the new revenue sharing and the program facilities. Norvell has the ability to earn that money back by winning games each season. If he wins nine games each season starting in 2026 until the end of his deal, he will earn the whole $4.5 million back. However, if he is fired before that, he would receive a prorated portion of that money in his buyout.
There is hope Norvell can get back on track, but if not, Florida State will have some serious decisions to make going forward.