NCAA FOOTBALL
How much does Florida State Seminoles football coach Mike Norvell’s make? Contract details
The new contract, signed in 2021, guarantees him an average salary of $8.05 million annually, almost double his original annual salary of $4.5 million.
Florida State football team’s head coach, Mike Norvell, has received a significant bump in pay and a three-year extension after leading the Seminoles to a 10-win season in 2021.
Norvell signed a six-year, $26.5 million contract with the Seminoles in December 2019 after leaving his position at Memphis.
With this contract, Norvell’s salary is now on par with Miami’s head coach, Mario Cristobal, who reportedly earns $8 million annually. Cristobal led UM to a 5-7 record in his first year in 2022 and is entering the third year of his ten-year contract. Furthermore, the new contract exceeds Florida coach Billy Napier’s average salary of $7.4 million annually on a seven-year contract. Napier led the Gators to a 6-7 record in his first season 2022.
Mike Norvell Contract Details
Norvell’s contract is not just a matter of years and salary. It includes a 2021 extension and significant pay cuts during the pandemic, where he helped the university save money. The initial contract, signed in 2019, was worth $28 million for six years, including a $215,000 base salary, additional pay, and an annual retention bonus.
The breakdown is as follows:
- Contract Length: 7 years (until the 2026 season)
- Base Yearly Salary: $215,000
- Total Additional Salary: $28,495,000 (an average of $4,070,714.29 per year)
- Annual Retention Bonus: $250,000 to be paid on December 31, starting in 2024
- Total Salary for 2022 Season: $3,250,000
To help Florida State University save money during the pandemic, Norvell took several pay cuts, and his retention bonus for 2020-23 was eliminated. None of these changes affected his annual base salary of $215,000. The adjustments are as follows:
- Year One of the Contract (2020): $3,535,000 — remains unchanged
- Year Two of the Contract (2021): $2,785,000 — originally $3,785,000
- Year Three of the Contract (2022): $3,035,000 — originally $4,035,000
- Year Four of the Contract (2023): $2,785,000 — originally $4,285,000
- Year Five of the Contract (2024): $4,785,000 — remains unchanged
- Year Six of the Contract (2025): $4,785,000 — remains unchanged
- Year Seven of the Contract (2026): $6,785,000 — agreed to in December 2021
Mike Norvell Buyout Details
If Florida State decides to terminate Norvell’s contract without any cause, meaning not because of any NCAA shenanigans or legal issues but solely because the team is losing, the university will be obligated to pay him 85% of the remaining money left on his contract. This remaining money includes his base salary and additional pay, excluding retention or performance bonuses.
If Florida State chooses to keep Norvell for the next season and then fires him after the 2023 season, they’ll have to pay him 85% of the remaining amount on his contract, which will be $18,700,000 out of his remaining $22,000,000.
Additional incentives
Norvell can earn more money each season as part of the usual college football contracts, depending on his performance incentives. These incentives are exclusively related to bowl or college football playoff games and have the potential to reach a maximum of $950,000.
Considering the return of some of their key players, such as quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson, wide receiver Johnny Wilson, defensive end Jared Verse, and defensive tackle Fabien Lovett, FSU is anticipated to be one of the strongest competitors in the 2023 College Football Playoffs. This is because these players have already proved their worth in their respective positions and have been instrumental in the team’s past victories.
FSU’s fans and supporters are eager to see how these players will perform in the upcoming playoffs and hope they will lead the team to victory.
The breakdown of the incentives:
- Non-College Football Playoff (“CFP”) Bowl Appearance $100,000
- CFP New Years’ Six Bowl Appearance $200,000
- CFP First Round Game Appearance $250,000
- CFP Quarterfinal Game Appearance $375,000
- CFP Semi-Final Game Appearance $500,000 or CFP National Championship Game Appearance $750,000
- CFP National Championship Game Win $950,000