From 5-7 to a fat paycheck: How Fickell’s extension mirrors Stoops’ Kentucky football blunder

Picture this: a college football coach limps through a lackluster season, fans are grumbling louder and louder and then—bam!—the school hands him a shiny new contract extension. Sound crazy? Well, it’s happened twice recently, and the parallels between Luke Fickell at Wisconsin and Mark Stoops at Kentucky are too juicy to ignore.

Let’s start with Fickell. The Wisconsin Badgers finished 2024 with a 5-7 record—hardly the stuff of legend for a program used to bowling like clockwork. It was their first bowl-less season in over two decades, capped by ugly losses to rivals Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Yet, on February 19, 2025, Wisconsin said, “Hey, Luke, here’s a new deal!” Fickell’s extension locks him in with an $7.725 million salary.

Now, rewind to Mark Stoops at Kentucky. In November 2022, after a brutal home loss to Vanderbilt left the Wildcats licking their wounds, Kentucky announced a massive extension for Stoops. His deal? A hefty $8.6 million base salary starting February 2023, plus some tantalizing bonuses: $300,000 to $800,000 for reaching College Football Playoff semifinals and $300,000 for a New Year’s Six bowl game. Not bad for a guy who is under .500 at the school, right?

Since signing that dotted line, though, Stoops has stumbled to a 12-17 overall record, a dismal 4-14 in SEC play, and a jaw-dropping 2-10 in his last 12 SEC home games. That Vanderbilt loss wasn’t a fluke—it was a sign of things to come. Yet, Kentucky bet big on Stoops’ past success, much like Wisconsin is doing with Fickell now.

So, what’s the deal here? Why are schools tossing millions at coaches after mediocre seasons? For Fickell, it’s about potential. Before Wisconsin, he turned Cincinnati into a Group of Five powerhouse, going 57-18 and snagging a College Football Playoff berth in 2021. Wisconsin’s banking on that magic rubbing off in Madison, even if 2024 was more of a face-plant than a fairy tale.

Stoops, meanwhile, had already proven he could win at Kentucky, before his post-extension skid began. Both schools seem to be playing the long game, hoping their guy’s track record trumps a single sour season (or 3 in Stoops' case).

But here’s where it gets fun: will Fickell follow Stoops’ post-extension path? Stoops’ 12-17 record since his big payday isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. Kentucky fans have watched their team flounder at home, losing SEC games left and right. If Fickell’s Wisconsin tenure takes a similar dive, that 5-7 season might start looking like a golden age.

On the flip side, Fickell’s got a knack for building winners. Maybe Wisconsin’s faith will pay off where Kentucky’s has faltered so far.

For now, it’s a tale of two coaches, two fat contracts, and two fanbases scratching their heads. Fickell’s 5-7 season didn’t scare off Wisconsin’s checkbook, and Stoops' massive buyout guarantees him at least one more season. Whether this is genius or madness, only time—and a few more Saturdays—will tell. So, grab your popcorn this story’s just getting started.