The South Carolina Gamecocks have struggled to find their footing in head coach Shane Beamer's sixth season in Columbia. The Gamecocks dropped to 0-3 in SEC play this week after blowing a 17-0 lead at home to Ketucky. In overtime, Wildcat head coach Will Stein's called for the two-point conversion in the win, and it paid off, giving his team a 35-34 victory.
Beamer, who drops to 35-32 overall with the loss, had entered this season squarely on the hot seat. After the loss to Kentucky, and looming games against Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Georgia and Clemson, it's hard to envision keeping Beamer if South Carolina fails to make a bowl.
But according to recent reporting, Beamer's buyout, paired with what it would cost to both pay out his staff and bring on a new head coach, might be a cost South Carolina can afford.
What is Shane Beamer's buyout?
At the start of the season, Beamer's buyout was $27.9 million. But in the week leading up to the Kentucky game, that number has dropped to $24 million, per The Greenville Online's reporting.
In Jan. 2025, after leading South Carolina to a 9-4 season in 2024, Beamer was given a new contract that made his annual salary just over $8 million a year, with an increase of $100,000 every year. Per On3Sports, Beamer is making $9.2 million during the 2026 season.
MORE: Shane Beamer's squandered 7 double-digit leads at South Carolina. It's time for a change
Can South Carolina afford to pay Beamer's buyout?
After the Kentucky game, the feeling was generally not if Beamer will get fired but when. But according to new reporting, there are apparently some doubts as to whether or not South Carolina can afford to do so.
According to both Brad Crawford of CBS Sports and David Cloninger of The Post and Courier, the estimated figure South Carolina would have to afford is around $50 million. That number would both pay Beamer's buyout and the rest of his staff, as well as hire a new coach. That might be too high of a cost for the school to afford right now, per Cloninger and Crawford's reporting.
Here's Crawford discussing the situation on Sunday:
Is Shane Beamer’s hot seat … cooling?
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) October 4, 2026
🤯 pic.twitter.com/35iskLGMle
Cloninger's reporting echoes that sentiment. In his postgame story filed to The Post and Courier on Saturday evening, Cloninger reported that the $50 million cost is something the "school simply doesn't have."
After the Kentucky game, Beamer was asked if he feels supported by the current athletic administration, which includes athletic director Jeremiah Donati.
“Yeah. I mean, I don’t know anything other than what they’ve told me," Beamer said via Gamecock Central. "That they’ve been super supportive and have been all along. Wish we could have put a better result on the field tonight.”
Of course, given the modern state of college football and buyouts these days, there is always a chance that deep-pocketed boosters pay the tab to move on from Beamer. But at this point in time, it appears that Beamer Ball may be continuing in Columbia—for now.
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