College Football’s Newest Coaches Have Some Interesting Incentives and Clauses in Their Contracts

Sports Illustrated acquired the contracts for every head coach hired by a public school this year to see what sticks out.

Head coaching contracts have never been more lucrative than they are now, and they often come with similar core incentives beyond the base pay and the buyout. There are complimentary tickets, cellphone allowances, relocation reimbursement and a courtesy car (or sometimes two). 

But while many clauses in coaching contracts are universal, some are unique. Sports Illustrated acquired contracts or term sheets for every new head coach hired by a public school to analyze what’s interesting about each one.

A large chunk of Dillingham’s earnings will be dictated by how the Sun Devils perform in the classroom :: Patrick Breen/USA Today Network

Arizona State: Kenny Dillingham

Academic incentives are nothing new in coaching contracts and are typically tied solely to the team’s NCAA academic progress rate (APR), but Dillingham’s has interestingly specific sweeteners, including how many Sun Devils enroll in the school’s honors college, according to an executive summary of his contract:

• 3–6 players: ($50,000)
• 7–11: ($100,000)
• 12-plus: ($250,000)

He will also get $37,500 if the team GPA is at least 2.7; $62,500 if it meets 2.8; $100,000 if it hits 2.9; and $150,000 if it’s 3.0 or above. The ASU team GPA for the academic year of 2020–21 was 2.56, according to the executive summary. If the Sun Devils max out their academic performance in a given year, Dillingham can earn up to $935,000 in extra compensation. That doesn’t include any on-field performance bonuses or his total salary of $3.85 million.

Auburn: Hugh Freeze

In a section regarding properties owned by Auburn, according to his contract, Freeze must seek written approval from athletic director John Cohen to copy (at his own expense) and keep “practice, drill or game film and/or any practice or game scripts, schedules and/or playbooks.” It’s not uncommon for coaches to use drills or film of their previous schools in presentations or coaching clinics.

If Freeze or his representatives negotiate for a new job in either college or the NFL without providing written notice to Cohen while under contract, the school is entitled to $50,000 directly from Freeze paid within 90 days. Auburn has sole discretion over what counts as a breach and the time of first contact with a prospective employer but will act in “good faith” to make that determination.

Clauses like these aren’t rare for coaches, but the specificity here is interesting.

Charlotte: Biff Poggi

Perks for coaches pretty much always include country club memberships so coaches can hobnob with boosters and other wealthy people in their communities. It also helps their families have a social circle when moving to a new place. Oftentimes there isn’t a set amount in the contract for country club fees, with clauses typically stating that both the coach and the athletic department will come to a mutual agreement on the club or the coach will get a membership at the club where the school’s golf team plays. 

Poggi’s contract allows for the school to cover an initiation fee up to $25,000 and monthly dues up to $6,000. While initiation fees are often malleable at ritzy clubs, the reported sticker price for initiation to Charlotte’s Quail Hollow Club (a one-time major host and regular stop on the PGA Tour), is $100,000. Poggi likely won’t have much of a problem picking up the difference if he wishes, as he has a background running a hedge fund before getting into coaching. He sold Charlotte AD Mike Hill on his connections to Charlotte’s business sector when interviewing for the job, and told SI he planned to donate $500,000 of his own money to the program when he took the job.

Cincinnati: Scott Satterfield

Satterfield has, effectively, a COVID-19 clause in his agreement, according to a memorandum of understanding between him and the school. It states:

“The parties agree that, in the event the football season is shortened, canceled or otherwise limited, including but not limited to a limitation or restriction on spectators from attending competition, that salary may be adjusted downward in order to be consistent with his new workload responsibilities and/or to bring salary into better alignment with the resulting financial status of the Department of Athletics and/or the Program.”

The clause removes some of the awkwardness involving a pay cut if there is another pandemic-like event that does to college sports what COVID-19 did in 2020.

Coastal Carolina: Tim Beck

Beck’s contract expires at the end of 2027, and if he accepts a Power 5 head coaching job in college or the NFL before the end of 2026, Coastal Carolina is owed $3 million. If he accepts a Group of 5 head job in that same timeframe, the school is owed $1.5 million. Both amounts drop by half if the school gets a new athletic director and school president. This can be viewed as protection for Beck if leadership changes in a way that’s unfavorable to him and he wants to move on.

Colorado: Deion Sanders

A football coach’s pay can be structured quite creatively and frequently goes far beyond base salary, but rather a total compensation package. For instance, Auburn’s Hugh Freeze has a base salary of $250,000 and earns $3.125 million annually for “personal endorsement rights payments” and another $3.125 million annually for a “personal appearances payment.”

Sanders will earn a total of $1.5 million out of his $5.5 million in total compensation under a clause in his contract called “development of the Student-Athlete.” That is broken down in $500,000 increments for:

• The support of football program athletes towards attainment of academic skills and the development of academic culture.
• The welfare and development of Football Program student athletes, including citizenship, and support for the Football Program engendered from the University of Colorado Boulder student population.
• The development of the Football Program outreach, culture and reputation on campus; integration and support of campus constituencies; community involvement and development of community support for the Football Program; national leadership in athletics; and, coach and staff citizenship.

Sanders also is contractually obligated to wear Nike gear, which Colorado has an agreement with, despite his personal deal with Under Armour.

Florida Atlantic: Tom Herman

If FAU terminates Herman without cause, the school can reassign him to another position in the university that he is qualified for, according to his memorandum of understanding with the school. The more likely scenario if that happens, though, is Herman separating from the university after that reassignment, which will result in him being paid a lump sum severance that is either 20 weeks of his annual salary (which starts at $700,000 in year one and escalates from there) or the remainder of what’s owed to him in his contract—whichever is less.

Kent State: Kenni Burns

A bespoke incentive for the head coach at Kent State: Burns earns $5,000 if the Golden Flashes beat Akron and earn the Wagon Wheel trophy, which they’ve played for 65 times since 1923 and every year since ’83. Kent State has won four straight games in the series.

Starting July 1, up to $200,000 per fiscal year is directly earmarked to Kent State’s football budget as the school schedules nonconference “guarantee games” where the Golden Flashes get a direct payout to play an opponent (typically on the road against a Power 5 team). Kent State’s football operating budget in 2021–2022 was just over $7.6 million, which ranked 93rd out of 96 schools that publicly reported to Sportico, and well below the average of $26.1 million.

Louisville, which won seven games just twice in its last five seasons after doing so every year between 2010–17, will reward Brohm if he can reach that benchmark :: Scott Utterback/USA Today Network

Louisville: Jeff Brohm

Brohm’s contract (which runs through the end of 2028), automatically extends by one year if the Cardinals win seven or more games in any season during the agreement, and automatically extends by two years if they win 10 or more for a maximum extension through ’30. Both win totals include bowl games.

Mississippi State: Zach Arnett

Arnett cannot proactively recruit, contact or direct someone to recruit or contact a verbal Mississippi State commit for 60 days if he is fired without cause or resigns from Mississippi State.

Nebraska: Matt Rhule

There’s no telling how high the top of the coaching market will be if Rhule is still Nebraska’s coach in 2030 (the last year of his agreement) but currently his salary—which starts at $5.5 million—is set to escalate to $12.5 million by then. There are a few coaches already in the $10 million club, and Rhule is set to join them on Jan. 1, 2027. That’s only if he doesn’t earn an extension from Big Red in the meantime to get him there sooner if he overperforms, of course.

North Texas: Eric Morris

Morris and his wife are each allowed expense reimbursement, but not for travel within Denton or the nearby Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, which could be a 100-mile round trip to some of the more far-flung DFW suburbs.

Purdue: Ryan Walters

While most contracts include flat incentive amounts, Walters’s contract pays out incentives as percentages of his base salary (which starts at $1.5 million and increases to $2.7 million by the end of his five-year deal). His highest incentive payout would be a berth in the College Football Playoff, which would come with a 25% payout of whatever his base salary is. The payouts for postseason games are tiered from there. In true Big Ten fashion, the next highest payout is for a Rose Bowl berth (20%), followed by the other New Year’s Six bowls (18%), the Citrus/Music City or Reliaquest bowls (12%), the Pinstripe Bowl (10%) and any other bowl (7.5%). If the Big Ten or the College Football Playoff expands further, both sides will adjust the incentive structure.

South Florida: Alex Golesh

If USF joins a Power 5 conference, the school will negotiate a raise with Golesh for at least $1 million per year. Golesh also has an automatic bump for his support staff and salary pool budget of $50,000 per year, which removes some of the need for negotiation, though if he outperforms this deal and gets an extension, you’d think an increase to the pool would be on the table.

Texas State: G.J. Kinne

Kinne is not allowed to accept a job within the Sun Belt without written approval from Texas State’s athletic director. Such a move would be unlikely, as nearly all of the jobs that fit that description could be considered lateral moves.

UAB: Trent Dilfer

Dilfer is contractually required to “maintain a reasonably mature and rational attitude, and keep emotions in control, and downplay defeats.” He is also allowed to appear on Ryen Russillo’s podcast and Colin Cowherd’s shows.

UNLV: Barry Odom

It may surprise you, but head coaches do have performance evaluations, typically yearly, conducted by their athletic director that go beyond wins and losses. Odom’s evaluations take into account his official duties, including the understanding that he performs a specialized position; coaching; recruiting; rules compliance; good sportsmanship; fiscal management; support of academic mission; academic performance; and “other specific duties and responsibilities.”

Those are weighed as follows:

• 40% competitiveness
• 40% academics and rules compliance
• 10% institutional goals, diversity and citizenship
• 10% program administration

Western Michigan: Lance Taylor

Attendance may not be what it used to be in college sports, but Taylor is among the handful of coaches who receives a bonus for certain attendance benchmarks. On average, for home games at 30,2000-seat capacity Waldo Stadium, Taylor’s incentives are:

• 18,000–20,000 ($3,000)
• 20,000–25,000 ($5,000)
• 25,000-plus ($10,000)

Wisconsin: Luke Fickell

Fickell’s contract specifically states that final decisions regarding participation in practices or games is to be made by the medical and training room staff as a nod to player safety concerns in a violent game. If the clause is found to be violated, Fickell can be fired for cause and owed nothing by the school.