{"id":873040,"date":"2026-04-23T20:49:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T20:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/873040\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T20:49:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T20:49:38","slug":"investigatetv-college-football-buyouts-reach-record-228-million-in-2025-as-fans-demand-reform-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/873040\/","title":{"rendered":"InvestigateTV+: College football buyouts reach record $228 million in 2025 as fans demand reform"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text | article-text text-start\">(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/newsletter\/\">InvestigateTV<\/a>) \u2014 Universities are shelling out millions to coaches who aren\u2019t even on their sidelines, and InvestigateTV+ uncovers how the price of gridiron glory can impact programs and their fans. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Then, we get an up-close look at the surprising ways some gas stations are failing inspection and what that could mean the next time you fill up. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Plus, a couple turns a once-overlooked marsh into a vibrant city sanctuary, and an off-duty firefighter saves the life of a former college football quarterback. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/01\/12\/college-football-buyouts-reach-record-228-million-2025-fans-demand-reform\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/01\/12\/college-football-buyouts-reach-record-228-million-2025-fans-demand-reform\/\">College football buyouts reach record $228 million in 2025 as fans demand reform <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">The dramatic departure of Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin to LSU at the end of 2025 shook college football fans across America as teams chase gridiron glory. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">He replaced one of the 15 head coaches fired in 2025, with contracted buyouts worth a total of $228 million \u2014 the largest buyout total in college athletics history. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">InvestigateTV found that since 2004, more than $1.1 billion has been paid to fired coaches, leaving universities on the hook for much of that money. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/01\/12\/college-football-buyouts-reach-record-228-million-2025-fans-demand-reform\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/01\/12\/college-football-buyouts-reach-record-228-million-2025-fans-demand-reform\/\">Read the full article. <\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/17\/former-south-carolina-quarterback-connor-shaw-survives-sudden-cardiac-arrest-sons-flag-football-game\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/17\/former-south-carolina-quarterback-connor-shaw-survives-sudden-cardiac-arrest-sons-flag-football-game\/\">Former South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw survives sudden cardiac arrest at son\u2019s flag football <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Connor Shaw, a former NFL quarterback and South Carolina Gamecocks star, collapsed in sudden cardiac arrest while he was coaching his son\u2019s flag football game in September 2025. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">A firefighter who was coaching his own son\u2019s team on the same field rushed to help Shaw and performed CPR for five minutes before other responders arrived with an automated external defibrillator. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Shaw said he believes his cardiac arrest happened for a reason and credits the firefighter with saving his life. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">He has started an initiative called <a href=\"http:\/\/hrthudl.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">hrthudl.org<\/a> to get AEDs in as many parks and athletic fields as possible and encourage people to learn CPR. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/17\/former-south-carolina-quarterback-connor-shaw-survives-sudden-cardiac-arrest-sons-flag-football-game\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/17\/former-south-carolina-quarterback-connor-shaw-survives-sudden-cardiac-arrest-sons-flag-football-game\/\">Read the full article. <\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/23\/how-gas-pump-meter-creep-can-cost-drivers-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/23\/how-gas-pump-meter-creep-can-cost-drivers-money\/\">How gas pump meter creep can cost drivers money <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Most gas pumps function as expected, and the meter stops when the nozzle is hung up, but customers can get shortchanged through a problem known as meter creep when equipment malfunctions. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Mike Brooks, who leads the team that inspects hundreds of gas stations across Arizona each year, said meter creep is fairly unusual. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Customers who notice meter creep should hang up the nozzle immediately to stop the counting, then go inside to alert the store and call the state, he said. The phone number is on every gas pump. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/23\/how-gas-pump-meter-creep-can-cost-drivers-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/23\/how-gas-pump-meter-creep-can-cost-drivers-money\/\">Read the full article here. <\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/23\/couple-transforms-wisconsin-quarry-into-community-garden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/23\/couple-transforms-wisconsin-quarry-into-community-garden\/\">Couple transforms Wisconsin quarry into community garden <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Ken and Judy Sikora have planted, decorated and replanted, turning what was once barbed wire and unusable land into what they call a quarry garden outside Green Bay, Wisconsin. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">The unused quarry is now a walking trail and garden for their community, where they add features for children to discover, like big footprints. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">The project is meant for more than recreation. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cIf people would consider what nature needs, we\u2019re losing pollinators, we\u2019re losing insects. We need people to consider doing something in their backyard,\u201d Ken Sikora said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">The Gardeners Club of Green Bay selected the quarry garden as its civic project. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/23\/couple-transforms-wisconsin-quarry-into-community-garden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.investigatetv.com\/2026\/04\/23\/couple-transforms-wisconsin-quarry-into-community-garden\/\">Read the full article here. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 Gray Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(InvestigateTV) \u2014 Universities are shelling out millions to coaches who aren\u2019t even on their sidelines, and InvestigateTV+ uncovers&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":872881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[7,2357,97890,22339,97887,97888,97886,7249,97889,97891],"class_list":{"0":"post-873040","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-impact","10":"tag-inform","11":"tag-inspire","12":"tag-investigate-tv","13":"tag-investigate-tv-plus","14":"tag-investigatetv","15":"tag-investigation","16":"tag-investigators","17":"tag-solutions-based-journalism"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116455995201241407","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}