Florida State’s trip to No. 3 Miami this week comes with an ugly backdrop the Seminoles can’t escape: the gap between what the two programs have poured into roster building, and what they’ve gotten back, has only widened.
The numbers from the last two and a half seasons tell the story. Since the 2023 ACC championship run, Florida State is 11-20 and was drilled by Georgia by 60 points in the Orange Bowl. A year after going 13-0 in the regular season and winning the conference title, the Seminoles were still left out of the College Football Playoff.
Mike Norvell’s future looked secure after that season. Florida State gave him an eight-year, $80 million extension to keep him from leaving for Alabama, with Nick Saban’s retirement looming at the time.
Norvell had been 31-17 at Florida State when that deal was signed. Since the start of the 2024 season, he’s gone 10-20.
Florida State also invested in facility upgrades, but that spending came with a catch. According to the source reporting, the push left NIL and roster construction to suffer, a casualty of limited resources and a narrow focus.
Miami, meanwhile, has taken the opposite path and cashed in on it. The Hurricanes made Cam Ward a priority in the transfer portal in 2024 and landed him for an NIL deal worth $934,000.
Florida State was in the mix too, but wound up with DJ Uiagalelei at $433,000. Ward changed everything for Miami; Uiagalelei played only five games for Florida State, throwing six interceptions against four touchdown passes, and the Seminoles finished 2-10.
The pattern kept repeating. Miami went after Carson Beck for $3.1 million last season after he had flirted with the NFL Draft, and even with a surgically repaired elbow that kept him out of spring practice, he guided the Hurricanes to a 13-3 record and a spot in the national championship game, where Miami lost to Indiana. Florida State answered by bringing in Boston College transfer Tommy Castellanos in 2025 for $800,000, and the result was a 5-7 season.
Now the Hurricanes are operating from an even stronger position. Last month, Miami agreed to a Nike apparel deal worth $200 million over 10 years, with about $20 million in cash going to the school each year. That kind of money, as the story notes, can change the shape of future roster building.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald laid out three reasons the deal got done: Miami’s national brand, which has been boosted by the program’s recent success; school leaders and Board of Trustees members personally digging into the possibility of a Nike partnership; and Nike’s willingness to align with one of college sports’ most successful programs.
On the field, Miami has backed it up. The Hurricanes have the No. 1 offense in college football this season, sparked by Duke transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, who was brought in for $6.5 million. From 2024 through five games this season, Miami is 28-6.
The broader comparison is stark, too. Since 2022, Mario Cristobal has guided Miami to a 40-19 record. Since the 2020 season, Norvell’s Seminoles are 41-37.
It all points to the same reality: in college football, money matters, but so do the people making the decisions. When the spending, the vision and the wins line up, the cash keeps coming.
In Other News...
Mike Norvell's Soft ACC Finish Feels Like A Defining FSU Stretch
Florida States season has reached the point where every game feels bigger than the record itself. With six left on the schedule, the Seminoles still have a path to a winning finish, and that matters because the programs next steps are being weighed with more than just on-field results in mind. Mike Norvell is coaching through a stretch where a soft ACC slate offers a chance to steady things, even as frustration from the fan base continues to build.
The larger conversation around Norvell is no longer only about this fall. University leadership has to account for the cost of any major move, including his buyout and any potential staff changes, while also judging whether the program is showing enough progress to justify patience. In a league that has given Florida State room to finish strong, these last six games may end up shaping not just the season, but the tone of everything that follows. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Fans Want More Than Words From Mike Norvell Right Now
Mike Norvell spent part of the week cleaning up his language after a heated postgame press conference following Florida States loss to Louisville, but the apology landed against a much larger backdrop of disappointment. The Seminoles have been dealing with real issues on the field, especially a defense that has given up more than 500 yards of total offense in multiple games this season, along with an offense that has not found much consistency.
For fans, the frustration is not about one emotional quote so much as the feeling that the same problems keep resurfacing. The rushing defense has been a particular sore spot, and the bigger concern is whether words in the aftermath of a loss can matter much when the on-field product keeps asking for answers the staff has not yet supplied. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Cut Ties With A Freshman Defender Under Troubling Circumstances
Florida State moved quickly to cut ties with freshman cornerback Chuck Kennon after his arrest on charges that included false imprisonment and aggravated fleeing to elude. Mike Norvell confirmed the dismissal, and the university said the decision was tied to conduct detrimental to the team, a standard the Seminoles have used before when off-field issues threaten the programs image and stability.
Kennon appeared in court, where bonds were set and restrictions were imposed after the incident that began with a police pursuit and ended with him fleeing on foot before later turning himself in. For Florida State, the episode leaves another roster spot open and another reminder that accountability off the field can arrive as abruptly as any depth chart change. [Read more 🡒]