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There has been a lot of talk about cutting waste in federal government spending during recent years – but little actual taxpayer savings to show for it.
For example, Elon Musk’s much-ballyhooed Department of Government Efficiency claims it saved $160 billion by rooting out wasteful or fraudulent government spending. However, a new estimate from the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan nonprofit that focuses on the federal workforce, says DOGE’s actions will cost $135 billion this fiscal year, in part because many workers fired through that effort have since been rehired after what getting what amounted to paid vacations at our expense, albeit coming with the anxiety of losing your job.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion last week, a record number that highlights the accelerating accumulation of debt on America’s balance sheet, and the Joint Economic Committee estimates that the total national debt has grown by $69,713.82 per second over the last year. Michael Peterson, chair and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, might have said it best: “Reaching $38 trillion in debt during a government shutdown is the latest troubling sign that lawmakers are not meeting their basic fiscal duties.”
However, there’s one area of waste that hasn’t received nearly enough attention, likely because it involves something many folks dearly love – college football.
Case study No. 1 is Jimbo Fisher, a pretty fair country coach who led Florida State to a 14-0 record and national championship in 2013. After seven solid seasons, the Seminoles let him go to Texas A&M, which signed him to a 10-year, $75 million contract in 2018, then turned around in 2021 and signed him to an extension through the 2031 season worth $95 million guaranteed.
Naturally, after those two bits of financial stupidity, Fisher was fired in November 2023 after his football teams went a mediocre 11-11 over his final two seasons. Just in order to make him go away, Texas A&M had to pay a settlement of about $77 million.
Think about that whopping number for a second. At a time when food cards are being cut or delayed, insurance costs are rising fourfold and much-needed local resources are dwindling fast, for a taxpayer-financed facility to waste that kind of money should be considered an unpardonable sin. Yet, we pass by these stories as if that’s just the way it has to be because, you know, it’s football.
Fisher isn’t alone in obtaining generational wealth thanks to a ludicrous, one-sided contract signed by leaders of public universities. Brian Kelly was just fired as head coach of LSU, and the university paid him a settlement of around $54 million – the second-largest amount ever, according to ESPN. James Franklin took a buyout worth $49 million from Penn State, Gus Malzahn received $21.4 million from Auburn and Billy Napier got $21.2 million from Florida.
Here’s an even higher number: If Georgia lost its collective mind and wanted to fire head football coach Kirby Smart, his extended contract through 2028 includes a buyout of $118.083 million. You can build one-third of a new ballroom where the East Wing of the White House used to stand with that kind of money.
Meanwhile, regular folks get fired or laid off from their jobs every day without a single cent coming back to them. And now the safety net is being cut to shreds.
The United States has become a place where athletes and entertainers are mistaken for people of importance, yet I’ve never needed one of them. However, I have needed doctors, teachers, farmers, mechanics, plumbers and plenty of other everyday people – and will again.
As long as coaches continue to receive millions of dollars after being fired for poor performance, any talk about financial austerity in government is just that – talk. We can, and must, do a whole lot better with taxpayer dollars.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. Call him with comments and questions at 828-837-5122 or email dbrown@cherokeescout.com.