Pete Thamel explains what Billy Napier's buyout means for job security

Billy Napier may not be the head coach at Florida after this season if the Gators fail to succeed. However, it won’t be easy for Florida to fire him. On Friday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel revealed how Napier’s contract protects him.

“To Billy Napier’s credit, he has contractual self awareness,” Thamel said. “He signed a seven-year deal when he got the Florida job, more than $50 million guaranteed. If they were to have another bad season, Billy Napier would likely be fired. It’s pretty clear.

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“He would be owed more than $26 million if he’s fired on December 1. That would be the second-biggest buyout in the history of college football. The biggest was three times as much, but $26 million to fire coaches — not something to sneeze at. There’s an interim president at Florida. I don’t think it’s fait accompli for Billy Napier. Part of that was he knew what he had to rebuild, and they prepared for it contractually.”

Florida signed Napier in December 2021 to a seven-year, $51.8 million contract. Napier received $7.1 million in his first year as the Gators’ head coach and his salary has increased by $100,000 annually since.

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If Florida fires Napier before his contract expires, the school will owe him 85% of the total remaining annual compensation through the otherwise unexpired term. Moreover, the school must deliver Napier 50% of the money owed within 30 days.

Billy Napier has a treacherous road ahead of him

Despite the immense pressure to succeed this season, it won’t be easy for Napier. Eight of Florida’s regular-season opponents are ranked in the AP Top 25. Further, the Gators play four top-10 teams in its final five games.

Alas, failure isn’t an option for Napier. In 2022, he led the Gators to a 6-7 overall record and 3-5 mark in conference play. Florida didn’t show any improvement in Napier’s second year at the helm, going 5-7 and 3-5 against SEC foes.

Now, Napier must find a way to lead his program forward against arguably the toughest schedule in the country. Napier’s starting quarterback, Graham Mertz, is embracing the challenge.

“If you’re a competitor, if you play this game, you want a schedule like that,” Mertz said earlier this month. “You want to get everybody’s best. You don’t want a schedule that’s the easiest in the country. I mean that’s not why you play the game, that’s not why you come to Florida. 

“So I think the biggest thing for us is we’re excited about the opportunity. It’s close. It’s right around the corner.”

Florida will kick off its 2024 campaign against Miami on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ABC.