Texas A&M entered Saturday at 4-4, and the Aggies were underdogs as they headed to South Carolina.

It wouldn’t be ideal at all for the Aggies to fall under .500 on the season, but the Gamecocks are favored to make that the case.

And with that in mind, fans could start wondering about what the buyout might cost to get out of Mike Elko’s contract.

Elko came to Texas A&M from Duke with a lot of hype, and there’s been plenty of good things in his time with the Aggies.

But this has been an odd season, particularly with the struggles of quarterback Marcel Reed, who had a huge regression from last year.

Regardless of circumstance, there’s always going to be fascination about Texas A&M coaching contracts because of the massive buyout they paid Jimbo Fisher.

Here’s what to know about Elko and his contract.

Mike Elko Contract Details

Mike Elko signed a new deal after last season.

It’s worth six years and $69 million and runs through the 2031 season, according to a report from A&M reporter Carter Karels in February.

This is how Karels summed up the new deal:

According to the contract, which A&M announced last November, Elko is set to begin making an annual base salary of $10.75 million and will receive a $300,000 bump in each ensuing contract year. His average annual base salary of $11.5 million would have ranked fourth among what college head football coaches made last year, according to the USA TODAY Sports database.

When joining the Aggies before their 2024 campaign, Elko agreed to a six-year, $42 million deal through the 2029 season. His $7 million annual base salary ranked 32nd among what college head football coaches made last year, per the USA TODAY Sports database.

The new deal includes a variety of terms, such as incentives for Elko and his assistant coaches, a support staff bonus pool, offset and mitigation language, buyout details upon termination and the ability to earn one-year contract extensions.

The one-year contract extension is triggered if either: 1. A&M wins nine or more regular-season games, or 2. The Aggies are selected to be in the College Football Playoff. However, if the CFP format expands from 12 teams to more than 15, A&M would need to be in the top 16 of the final CFP rankings for Elko to receive his one-year extension. He would make an annual base salary of $12.55 million in his first awarded contract year, and each additional awarded contract year would include a $300,000 bump.

It’s certainly a huge deal for Elko, and Texas A&M clearly believed in its head coach when they agreed to that deal.

Mike Elko Buyout Details

There are two different scenarios if Elko is fired without cause.

“Should the Aggies win a national championship during the terms of his contract, Elko would be owed 100% of his annual base salary for the remainder of the agreement,” Karels writes. “If not, he would be owed 100% of any remaining annual base salary from the effective date of the termination through the third-to-last contract year of the then-current term and 85% of any remaining annual base salary of the last two contract years of the then-current term.”

If Elko terminates the deal himself without cause, he would owe A&M different amounts depending on when it was terminated.

Karels details: “$12 million before Dec. 2, 2026, $8.5 million before Dec. 2, 2027, $4 million before Dec. 2, 2028, $3 million before Dec. 2, 2029, $2 million before Dec. 2, 2030, $1 million before Dec. 2, 2031, nothing after Dec. 1, 2031, $1 million prior to Dec. 2 during any awarded contract year, and $1 million if he takes any coaching position with an NFL franchise during the terms of the agreement. Any of those damages would need to be paid within 60 days.”

Elko would get a lower buyout amount if athletic director Trev Alberts is fired without cause before Elko, a 50% reduction.