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Morning Edition

October 20, 2025

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College football’s coaching carousel keeps spinning. Nine head FBS coaches have been fired this season, with buyouts now topping $116 million.

— Colin Salao [[link removed]] and Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]

Florida, Colorado State Firings Push CFB Buyouts Past $100M [[link removed]]

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

A close win Saturday wasn’t enough to secure Billy Napier another week in Gainesville.

The Florida Gators fired their head coach on Sunday after a 3–4 start, according to multiple reports. Napier signed a 7-year, $51.8 million contract with the Gators in late 2021, and Florida owes him $21.2 million for the buyout [[link removed]], per USA Today. (Other reports have indicated that the buyout is worth around $19 million.)

Reports have also indicated that the Gators must pay out half of the buyout within the first 30 days of his firing. The rest of the buyout will be paid every year on July 15 until 2029.

The buyout also does not include an offset, which means that the total figure will not decrease even if Napier secures another coaching gig.

Norvell Also Canned

Hours after the Gators let go of Napier, multiple reports indicated that Colorado State fired head coach Jay Norvell after a loss to Hawaii on Saturday that dropped the Rams to 2–5. Norvell was in the fourth year of a five-year, $9 million deal.

There are now 11 FBS head coach openings, including interim roles at Stanford (Frank Reich) and Kent State (Mark Carney).

$116M in Buyouts

Napier and Norvell are the eighth and ninth FBS college football coaches to be fired during the 2025 season, bringing the total buyout sum above $100 million [[link removed]]. Napier has the second-highest buyout sum, while Norvell is the smallest so far.

The nine schools owe a total of $116 million:

Penn State, James Franklin: $49.7 million Florida, Billy Napier: $21.2 million Oklahoma State, Mike Gundy: $15 million Arkansas, Sam Pittman: $9.8 million UCLA, DeShaun Foster: $6.43 million Virginia Tech, Brent Pry: $6 million Oregon State, Trent Bray: $4 million UAB, Trent Dilfer: $2.4 million Colorado State, Jay Norvell: $1.5 million

According to On3, Florida State officials held informal calls about the future of head coach Mike Norvell [[link removed]]. A buyout for Mike Norvell would cost the Seminoles about $54.4 million, which would be the most among all FBS programs.

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Beyond Ohio State, It’s Another Massive Shake-Up in the CFB Top 25 [[link removed]]

The Columbus Dispatch

Another week, another massive shake-up atop the college football rankings.

Nine of the top 10 teams changed positions in the Week 9 AP Top 25 rankings [[link removed]] released Sunday following another upset-filled weekend—a further sign of the growing parity [[link removed]] across college football that puts pressure on the CFP committee in the second year of the expanded playoff format.

Four of last week’s top-10 teams lost—the third time that’s happened this season—while a total of eight ranked programs fell this week, including five teams that lost to lower or unranked schools.

Friday Lit the Fuse

The list includes Miami, whose loss to Louisville on Friday night dropped them from No. 2 to No. 9. The Hurricanes were tied with No. 14 Texas Tech, which lost to Arizona State, for the second-biggest drop in the standings. The largest drop was LSU, which fell 10 spots to No. 20 after a loss to Vanderbilt.

The Cardinals (No. 19) and Sun Devils (No. 24), in turn, both jumped into the top 25 with their upset victories.

Ohio State was the only top-10 team to stay put, and they’ve held the No. 1 spot since Week 1. Indiana and Texas A&M round out the top three, and all three teams sit at 7–0 to start the year.

No. 7 Georgia Tech, No. 11 BYU, and unranked Navy are the only other undefeated FBS programs.

Hard Rock Headache?

Even though the Hurricanes lost this weekend, hurting their chances of earning a first-round bye in the CFP, Miami could instead be in line to host a first-round playoff game. That, however, could lead to a conflict at Hard Rock Stadium.

The first round of the CFP is scheduled for Dec. 19-20. The latter falls on the same day as a scheduled LaLiga soccer match between Barcelona and Villarreal. It’s a historic match given that it’s the first time one of the five major European soccer leagues is holding an official regular-season match outside of the continent.

Miami and the CFP are working on a potential contingency [[link removed]], according to ESPN.

Durant’s $30M Discount Still Makes Him Highest NBA Career Earner [[link removed]]

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Kevin Durant gave the Rockets a discount before playing an official game for the team.

The 15-time All-Star agreed to a two-year, $90 million extension [[link removed]], the team said Sunday [[link removed]]. It includes a player option for the 2027–28 season. Durant, 37, couldn’t sign a deal beyond two years because of the NBA’s over-36 rule that limits players of that age or older to a contract no longer than that length.

The 6-foot-10 forward was eligible for a two-year extension worth a maximum of $120 million, but left $30 million on the table to give Houston cap flexibility to stay in contention in the twilight of his career. Before Durant’s extension, the Rockets were projected to be $80 million under the second apron next season [[link removed]], according to ESPN. His deal still gives the team $35 million to re-sign forward Tari Eason and add players in free agency.

Despite the discount, Durant still made history with the deal. He surpassed LeBron James for highest career earnings in NBA history based on current and future salaries with a total of $598.2 million, according to Spotrac. James, who is in the final year of his contract with the Lakers, is at $583.9 million. The extension plus the $54 million Durant is owed this year means he will earn $144.7 million over the next three years.

The Rockets acquired Durant from the Suns in June [[link removed]] for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft—which the Suns used to select Duke center Khaman Maluach—and five second-round picks. Durant came to Houston in the final year of a four-year, $198 million deal he originally signed with the Nets [[link removed]] in 2021.

Durant expressed confidence in getting an extension signed at the team’s media day in September [[link removed]].

“I do see myself signing a contract extension,” Durant said then. “I can’t tell you exactly when it’ll happen but I do see it happening.”

The Rockets lost to the Warriors in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs and enter the season as title contenders behind Durant, who is still one of the game’s best scorers despite his age. They open the regular season on Tuesday against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, where Durant played for eight years.

Jannik Sinner’s $6M Saudi Payday Tops Any Grand Slam Purse [[link removed]]

Mike Frey-Imagn Images

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz played in their sixth tournament final of the year this weekend. Sinner prevailed for just the second time this year [[link removed]], but it also just so happened to be the most lucrative.

On Saturday, the Italian won the Six Kings Slam [[link removed]], an exhibition tournament held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to take home $6 million, a prize larger than any Grand Slam tournament this year. The single-elimination tournament, which featured just six players, granted Sinner a first-round bye, meaning he needed to win only two matches to take home the title.

The tournament—which also featured Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas—awarded each player a $1.5 million participation fee, with the winner receiving an additional $4.5 million for a total purse of $13.5 million.

Sinner also won the event last year, which had the same prize.

The largest prize on the ATP calendar this year was $5 million at the US Open, which Alcaraz won. The ATP Finals start next month, and the champion can win more than $5 million [[link removed]] if they finish the tournament undefeated.

Unofficial Earnings

Because the Six Kings Slam is an exhibition tournament, the earnings are not considered in the players’ official career earnings count. Sinner currently sits in No. 7 all-time with $48.8 million in career earnings. He sits right behind Zverev and Alcaraz.

Here are the top eight in ATP career earnings:

No. 1: Novak Djokovic, $190.2 million No. 2: Rafael Nadal, $134.6 million No. 3: Roger Federer, $130.6 million No. 4: Andy Murray, $64.7 million No. 5: Alexander Zverev, $54.7 million No. 6: Carlos Alcaraz, $53.5 million No. 7: Jannik Sinner, $48.8 million No. 8: Daniil Medvedev, $47 million

Sinner would not have passed Zverev and Alcaraz in the rankings even if this year’s tournament were considered in the earnings. However, the 24-year-old would be ahead of the other two if last year’s tournament were included.

Saudi Arabia Eyes NFL

The Six Kings Slam is just one of the many sporting events produced by the Saudi Arabian government in recent years, and the NFL may be next.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the country’s General Entertainment Authority, said Thursday that he’d like Saudi Arabia to host an NFL game as the league continues to schedule international regular-season games in Brazil and Europe.

Last month, the WWE announced it was hosting WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia in 2027, the first WrestleMania outside North America.

Conversation Starters The University of South Florida recorded footage of the team’s recent game on a Nokia phone. The team previously used a Nintendo DS and a Ring doorbell camera. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Cubs fans have started an unofficial tradition in left field: a bleacher potluck. Check out [[link removed]] the 2025 edition. Circuit of the Americas, the track in Austin for the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix, unveiled a new luxury club that includes a fitness center and racing simulators. Take a look [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks How Vanderbilt Went From SEC Doormat to Dark Horse CFP Candidate [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]After beating LSU, Clark Lea said: “Internally, we expect to win.” Inside the NFL’s Private Chef Network [[link removed]]by Hilary George-Parkin [[link removed]]Private chefs are the unsung architects of player performance. Financial Behemoth Dodgers Win NL Pennant, Eye History [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The biggest spenders would be MLB’s first repeat champion in 25 years. Question of the Day

Do you think Florida was right to fire Billy Napier midseason and after a win?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Friday’s result: 58% of respondents are surprised that an NHL expansion team would cost a minimum of $2 billion.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Written by Colin Salao [[link removed]], Alex Schiffer [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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