Florida State head football coach Mike Norvell is contributing $4.5 million — almost half of next year’s salary — to help launch a new fundraising initiative as part of a restructured contract, the school announced Monday morning.
FSU said Norvell’s contribution was voluntary. He’s due to make more than $10.1 million in 2025, according to the terms of the contract he signed in February after the Seminoles’ 13-1 season that included an ACC championship. Norvell’s Seminoles finished 2-10 this season, in one of the biggest year-over-year collapses in college football history.
The money will go to Florida State’s Vision of Excellence campaign. According to the school, the initiative “seeks to immediately raise Florida State athletics to new heights of comprehensive excellence by setting ambitious goals for the future of the student-athlete experience, coaching, facilities and fan engagement.”
“I presented this to our administration in an effort to boost the support of our student-athletes while recognizing that the results and expectations need to be upheld to the highest level,” Norvell said in a statement. “I wanted to be proactive in my financial assistance through this time of transition as we all push forward to get back to the standard of Florida State football. Great days are ahead, and I’m grateful to coach these players and lead this staff. We have been hard at work to uphold the tradition here at Florida State, and I believe this step will help accelerate the process to where I know we are going.”
The move comes as schools across the country are preparing to share revenue with athletes as soon as next year under terms of the House v. NCAA settlement. Athletic departments are scrutinizing expenses and looking for new revenue streams to fund upwards of $20 million in revenue-sharing, once the case is finalized. The settlement will allow schools to pay players directly while allowing legitimate NIL deals with third parties.
“We are grateful for Coach Norvell’s commitment to our student-athletes,” Seminoles athletic director Michael Alford said in a release. “He is a high-character person who took an honest assessment of what the program needed from its leader to move forward. I’m excited about the future of Florida State football. FSU will continue to be a leader in the new structure of collegiate athletics, and that includes how we provide for our student-athletes. It will take additional support. I’m not going to be shy about encouraging others to follow Coach Norvell’s actions and contribute however they can.”
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
