There is no denying that the Texas athletic department dishes out a lot of money on its programs and staff. However, athletic director Chris Del Conte and his staff have made a good push toward reducing the amount that the Longhorns have to hand out to former coaches in the form of severance packages.
Don't get it twisted, Texas still spends a pretty penny on coaches who have been fired over the last few years, the total severance spending in the 2024 fiscal year equaling $7,225,932. However, the Horns are a far cry from the program that spent the most last year.
What makes it even better is that it's a rival program that spent the most last season, with the Texas A&M Aggies shelling out more than $27,500,000 on severance agreements in 2024 alone.
SEC athletic departments' severance totals for 2024
- Texas A&M, $27,507,057
- Auburn, $10,895,693
- Texas, $7,225,932
- Mississippi State, $5,043,875
- LSU, $4,706,239
- Ole Miss, $2,814,357
- Missouri, $2,699,200
- Oklahoma, $2,508,428
- Tennessee, $2,345,833
- Arkansas, $2,122,421
- Kentucky, $1,743,867
- Florida, $1,282,843
- Georgia, $1,073,138
- South Carolina, $440,486
- Alabama, $6,911
Severance totals provided by AL.com
The Aggies spent nearly four times the amount of money on severance packages than the Longhorns did, more than doubling the Auburn Tigers, who spent the second most in the conference. The only school in the SEC not to report any severance spending was the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Sure, Texas spent over $10,600,000 on Steve Sarkisian's salary, but he also led the Longhorns to a second consecutive College Football Playoffs semifinal appearance. Meanwhile, the Aggies paid new head coach Mike Elko over $7 million just for him to lead them to a disappointing 8-4 overall record, including a loss to the Horns and a bowl game loss to the USC Trojans.
To put it simply, Del Conte and Sarkisian have the Texas Longhorns athletic department in a prosperous position as they head into their second season in the SEC, and their first-ever matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies at DKR.