Texas A&M tried everything. Everything. You can roll your eyes at how it all ended. With a $77 million golden parachute setting Jimbo Fisher gently on a cushion of buyout cash. But no one can say the Aggies didn’t swing big. When they landed Fisher, a national title-winner from Florida State, it was framed as a power move to put A&M shoulder-to-shoulder with the league’s elites. What followed, though, was a cautionary tale written in money and scoreboard disappointment. Now, with Mike Elko, the Aggies are trying something different. And while Elko’s deal is hefty, it comes with a lot more guardrails.

The money, though, that’s the part still drawing whistles. ESPN’s Cole Cubelic cracked open the vault on-air and revealed how Texas A&M is paying off its mistake. Brought it up jokingly about the Aggies ex-coach’s contract on That SEC Podcast. “So I did—we asked on my show this morning. I wasn’t sure. I was like, ‘Cuz Jimbo came up in his money, huh?’ And I was like, you know what we never saw? We never saw how this is going to be paid out, right?” Cubelic said. Then came the jaw-dropper.

“So a friend of mine knows and he texts me and told me. So 77.6 buyout, 19.4. 25% lump sum within 60 days of termination. So the termination was by January 11th, 2024. The remaining 58.2 paid out annually in installments through 2031.” Do the math. That’s roughly $7.2 to $8 million per year just to not coach. “So he got 19.4 today and then once a month until 2031 he’s going to get between seven and nine million. I think I’d be all right. I think I could,” Cubelic added.

That’s not a retirement plan, it’s a lifetime achievement award disguised as a severance. When asked what Jimbo Fisher’s even doing these days, Cubelic quipped, “Who cares? He’s living on a ranch.” Then corrected himself: “Ranches. Plural ranches. He wants to do media. He does like some guest spots on Sirius XM and I’m like, ‘Coach, no. No, you don’t.’”

The financial absurdity became a bit of a meme. But for A&M’s administration, the joke wore thin. AD Ross Bjork was blunt when the axe finally fell: “A change in the leadership of the program was necessary in order for Aggie football to reach our full potential.” And so ended one of the most expensive coaching tenures in college history. Even for a program flush with SEC Network revenue and oil booster backing, that stings.

But credit the Aggies for learning from the burn. Mike Elko’s deal, announced shortly after he was hired away from Duke, is far more digestible: six years, $42 million. That puts him at $7 million annually. But unlike Fisher’s deal, the buyout is structured with a flat percentage that escalates midway through the term. The contract also includes performance incentives. But no blank checks or parachutes tied to just showing up. It’s a deal fit for a rising coach, not a made man. That shift in structure matters.

Fisher’s era wasn’t a total disaster. He did win 45 games, recruited at an elite level, and built a roster that, on paper, belonged in the playoff discussion. But the returns were never consistent. Yet willing to effectively spend $20 million per year for a Jimbo Fisher experiment, then you can break the pay scale that had Nick Saban sitting atop with $11.4M/yr at Alabama, is absurdity. Now Mike Elko, a respected defensive mind and former A&M coordinator, gets his shot with a cleaner slate and a contract that actually leaves the university with options. Texas A&M still has the cash.

CBS predicts disappointing finish for Texas A&M

The second year of the Mike Elko era hasn’t even kicked off yet, and already the skeptics are rolling in. Despite getting praise from some insiders, not everyone is on board. CBS Sports isn’t exactly pouring confetti on the Aggies’ 2025 campaign. In a new article featuring one bold prediction for each SEC team, Brad Crawford didn’t mince words when it came to Texas A&M’s outlook. “Mike Elko’s team finishes the season unranked,” he wrote. Short, blunt, and just the kind of jab that gets a fanbase fired up.

Especially after Elko’s promising first year at the helm and a productive offseason in the transfer portal. But CBS isn’t buying the hype just yet. According to Crawford, the issue lies in the holes left behind by DL Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart, and Shemar Turner. All three of whom were selected in April’s NFL Draft. That’s a lot of muscle to replace in one offseason.

To make matters tougher, the Aggies’ 2025 schedule is no cakewalk. There are heavyweight battles against Notre Dame, Texas, and LSU. Teams with serious playoff aspirations. But hey, remember the last time A&M played in Austin? That 24–17 win in the capital was anything but expected. So who knows how the night of Nov. 28 will turn out this year?