The longer Luke Fickell gets to keep coaching the Wisconsin Badgers, the less and less the university will have to pay him when it comes to his overall buyout. At the end of last season, Wisconsin would have had to pay Fickell $40.1 million to go away. If Wisconsin were to move on from Fickell after this season, the buyout would drop to $25.4 million. The fact the Badgers extended him is so disturbing.
Pete Nakos of On3 was all over the details of Fickell's buyout at this stage of the game. Fickell is making $7.7 million this season, which includes a $100,000 raise escalator at the end of the season, should he still be around. With Fickell under contract through the 2031-32 college football season, he would be making $8.3 million annually. Fickell is not working out with Wisconsin, but he is expensive...
Nakos outlined the buyout amount for Fickell after the end of each season of his Wisconsin contract.
- 2025: $25.4 million
- 2026: $19.2 million
- 2027: $12.8 million
- 2028: $6.4 million
- 2029: $6.4 million
- 2030: $6.4 million
- 2031: $0
The other big thing here has to do with the language of Fickell's contract. Wisconsin would have to pay him 80 percent of the remaining total compensation on his contract that is slated to expired in 2029. So yes, while the buyout becomes a bit more manageable, the other mitigating factors in this would complicate Wisconsin from moving on from its head coach. It would be record-setting to do so.
If Fickell were to be fired at the end of this season, it would be the second-largest buyout to date.
What are the chances of Wisconsin moving on from Luke Fickell now?
From what Wisconsin fans have seen out of Fickell's team of late, moving on from him seems like a foregone conclusion. However, the language of Fickell's contract could prove too overly complicated. Again, his buyout is not that steep. The problem is the 80-percent compensation of what is remaining on his contact. This has put Wisconsin behind the eight ball considerably in moving on from Fickell...
What this all boils down to is Fickell is a symptom of something much bigger at play in Madison. It was athletic director Chris McIntosh who gave him that contract extension after a 5-7 season the year prior. He might need to be the one to go before even Fickell. Frankly, it should be a package deal because this is such an unmitigated disaster for the Badgers. It is hard to see this continuing here.
Ultimately, the only thing that matters is how big of a buyout/payout can Wisconsin's boosters stomach. The Badgers could get a suitable replacement for Fickell, but it is going to cost them. For that reason, it needs to get somehow even worse than this for Fickell to likely get the ax. It should happen as soon as tomorrow, but Wisconsin is still technically alive to maybe make a bowl game...
For now, Fickell's seat has never been hotter at Wisconsin, but he might have to stay on it for a bit.