Three coaches, five days, $32 million

Two weeks ago we led with a coaching carousel that hadn't moved. It has now turned three times in five days. Maryland and Mike Locksley parted ways on Oct. 21 with the team 2-5; NC State fired Dave Doeren on Saturday, less than a day after a loss at Stanford; and Baylor fired Dave Aranda on Sunday, a day after losing to Kansas. Three of the four Power 4 leagues now have an opening.

Then there's the bill. CBS Sports laid out the buyouts: about $12 million at Baylor, a private school that doesn't release contracts, and roughly $10 million apiece at NC State and Maryland. That's about $32 million for coaches who won't coach another game at those schools, and it's the number below.

The rosters stay put for now. Under the rule the NCAA adopted a year ago, players at a school that changes coaches get a 15-day portal window that opens five days after the new coach is hired or announced, so any exits wait on the hires. None of the three programs is among the 24 most expensive rosters on our board, last week's bracket line.

Results don't move our football values in-season, either. A player's value changes when his depth-chart seat does, never on how he or his team played; this season's production gets priced in with our 2027 valuations, which arrive in November. Board figures as of Aug 31, 2026.

One number

$32M

in reported buyouts for three Power 4 coaches let go in five days

Together, the three buyouts top the average roster on our board, $25.0 million in estimated market value across the Power 4 plus Notre Dame, and the $21.58 million any one school can share with all of its athletes this year under the revenue-sharing cap. Buyout figures as reported; board figures as of Aug 31, 2026.

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Valuations are The NIL Standard's independent estimates.