Norvell gives back $4.5M to Florida State in restructured deal

Florida State announced Monday that head coach Mike Norvell is handing $4.5 million of his salary back to the school in a restructured agreement.

"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."

Norvell's contribution is part of the Seminoles' Vision of Excellence campaign, in which the school is raising money to share revenue with its student-athletes. The new initiative was created in anticipation of the new House settlement, which will permit schools to share up to $20.5 million with their athletes beginning July 1.

"We are grateful for Coach Norvell's commitment to our student-athletes," FSU athletic director Michael Alford said. "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."

Norvell, who agreed to an extension this past spring, will earn $9.9 million and see his earnings increase to $11 million toward the end of his contract, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

The decision to contribute to the Seminoles' campaign comes after Norvell led FSU to a 2-10 record. The season marked an abrupt downturn for a program that finished with a 13-1 record and narrowly missed the College Football Playoff in controversial fashion in 2023. Norvell has posted a 33-27 record over five seasons as Florida State's coach.

Novell is the latest head coach to use his own salary to help spark donations to his own school. LSU's Brian Kelly and his wife announced they would match up to $1 million in donations to a Tigers NIL fund.