Dabo Swinney buyout: What it would cost Clemson to move on from coach as Tigers struggle in 2025 season

Swinney dared Clemson to 'send me on my way' after their loss to Georgia Tech

Dabo Swinney will likely choose when he departs Clemson as the Tigers' most successful coach in program history, but that won't stop a vocal portion of the fan base from calling for his job when the Tigers get off to a slow start as they have to the 2025 season -- particularly with concerns that Swinney has allowed Clemson to fall behind the times in college football with his sparing use of the transfer portal. 

Swinney has long pushed back on criticisms of his program by touting his stellar record at Clemson, comparing that to the program's relative struggles before he took over and daring the administration to fire him if they're "tired of winning," as he said after the loss to Georgia Tech. He is correct that he transformed the Tigers into a perennial national title contender (and brought them a pair of championships), but they've also slipped from that perch and college football coaches are always judged by what they've done lately. 

From Tyler in Spartanburg to Georgia Tech: Five years of Dabo Swinney's same old song after losses

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That said, beyond the sentimental reasons to not move on from Swinney after 18 years at the helm, there are plenty of financial reasons for Clemson to give Swinney a chance to once again get the program back on track to being a College Football Playoff contender. 

Dabo Swinney contract, buyout details 

Swinney signed a 10-year, $115 million extension with Clemson in 2021 that runs through the 2031 season and made him one of college football's highest-paid coaches. Swinney's buyout in 2025 is $60 million and only drops to $57 million in 2026. From 2027 on, the buyout is the full remaining salary left on his contract.

The buyout can be paid in regular installments through the life of the contract (through 2031) or paid in full within 90 days of Swinney being terminated, and there is no offset language if Swinney takes another job -- which he said this week he would. 

That is a massive amount of money for even a big-time program to pay to fire a coach -- especially with a new coach likely coming in at around $10 million per year. Things would have to become truly disastrous for Clemson to make that decision, but where that line is we don't know just yet.