Why Does a Fired Employee Get a Huge Bonus For Getting Fired?

All good questions.

To answer your last question, the reason college sports coaches make so much money is because they are bringing in buttloads of money for the colleges. College sports programs are probably the biggest revenue stream that colleges have. Is their pay justified? Based on what they bring in, mostly. As for paydays like this when someone fails, it's never made sense to me. These kinds of paydays are common among CEOs, often referred to as "golden parachutes." It is almost always the case that a CEO will have a clause in their contract that if they are fired, they get a massive payout. It does seem rather counterintuitive considering the amounts. Meanwhile, a regular employee who gets fired has to jump through hoops to be eligible for unemployment benefits, which many times the companies fight tooth and nail to not have to pay because when payouts occur, their insurance premiums go up.

I’m going to preface this with saying I agree with you. However, on the other side, the money football makes colleges and universities is unbelievable, and if they think an appealing buy out will get a desirable coach to sign with them, they’re going to offer it. Now, Mark Stoops was never a highly desirable coach, so I have no idea why he got a 37 million dollar buyout. But boy, when it backfires, it backfires. Brian Kelley was stolen by LSU from Notre Dame. He really was a highly desirable coach, and to get him they gave him a buyout of 54 million if they fired him without cause. Well, stinking at football is without cause, and when they fired him this year the governor had a fit that they had to pay this guy 54 million. But the risk is seemingly worth it for the millions upon millions football brings in. It funds all the smaller sports, including women’s sports. Boosters line up to donate. Let me reiterate though: it’s STiLL absolutely ridiculous. *I love football, but it’s still dumb.