Cal Football: Details of Coach Justin Wilcox's New 6-Year Contract

By staying in Berkeley through the end of 2027, Wilcox will earn at least $28.5 million.

Cal football coach Justin Wilcox’s latest contract extension spanning six seasons will pay him a total of $28.5 million, excluding any performance bonuses, if he merely remains remains the Bears’ coach through the end of 2027.

That works out to $4.75 million per season, prior to any performance bonuses.

Wilcox declined a coaching offer from Oregon, his alma mater, in the offseason and signed an extension on Jan. 1 that would extend his tenure in Berkeley to 11 seasons.

Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton, in the video above, shares his reaction when he learned Wilcox had turned down an offer from the Ducks.

Cal Sports Report secured copies of Wilcox's new contract through a public records request to the university.

The contract also is notable because it includes a boost in the salary pool for Cal’s assistant coaches. That pool, divided among 10 assistants and the strength and conditioning coach, is now $4.6 million per year, with 2-percent annual raises, an increase of 19.5% from the original pool of $3.85 million.

Wilcox will continue to receive a base salary of $275,000 per year, the only portion of his salary funded by taxpayers.

Here is his annual talent fee, which comes from other revenue sources and represents the largest portion of his salary:

2022: $3,425,000

2023: $3,625,000

2024: $4,075,000

2025: $4,275,000

2026: $4,475,000

2027: $4,975,000

Wilcox’s previous contract ran through 2025. His yearly talent-fee salary increases from 2022 through ’25 are $450,000, $500,000, $800,000 and $850,000 — an average of $650,00 per year.

Wilcox also will receive a yearly retention bonus, provided he remains the Bears’ coach through the end of the year. He can earn $500,000 at the close of 2022 and ’23, then $250,000 each from 2024 through ’27.

To recap, that’s a base salary totaling $1.65 million through six seasons, talent fees adding up to $24.85 million and retention bonuses of $2 million. The total: $28,500,000.

Including his talent fee, base pay and retention bonus, Wilcox will earn a minimum of $4.2 million in 2022. That figure would have ranked sixth among Pac-12 coaching salaries in 2021, according to Jon Wilner of the Mercury News. Notably, Stanford's David Shaw earned $8.9 million last years and UCLA's Chip Kelly was second in the conference at $5.6 million.

But . . . there’s more.

The rest is based on performance, some of which is more realistically attainable than the rest. There is a cap of $900,000 in total bonuses per season.

Here are his bonuses based on the team’s performance:

6 regular-season wins: $25,000

7 regular-season wins: $125,000

8 regular-season wins: $200,000

9 regular-season wins: $275,000

10 regular-season wins: $350,000

11 regular-season wins: $425,000

12 regular-season wins: $500,000

And there’s this:

Beats Stanford: $25,000

Beats Oregon, USC or UCLA (provided each has 6 regular-season wins):

$10,000 each

Participates in the Pac-12 title game: $50,000

Participates in a New Years 6 bowl game: $100,000

Participates in the National Championship game: $100,000

Participates in a Top-2 Pac-12 contract bowl game (non-New Years 6): $75,000

Participates in any other bowl game: $40,000

Conference Coach of the Year: $50,000

National Coach of the Year: $50,000

The university wants to encourage Wilcox to recruit and develop good students, so these academic bonuses are also available:

A team GPA at or above 2.70 is worth $30,000 and those bonuses extend to $60,000 for a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

If Cal achieves an Academic Progress Report above 960, Wilcox earns $50,000. A score of 1,000 is worth $150,000. The team’s 977 APR score in 2020, for instance, would trigger a $75,000 bonus.

There’s also a $4,500 courtesy vehicle allowance and a membership to the Claremont Country Club & Spa (value unknown).

Of course, there are buyouts protecting each party.

If Wilcox opts to exit prior to the end of the 2022 regular season, he must pay the university $4 million. The buyout fee drops to $3.75 million if he leaves on or before the end of the 2023 regular season, $3 million in ’24, $2 million in ’25, and $1 million on or before the end of the ’26 campaign.

If Cal terminates Wilcox without cause at the conclusion of the first year it must pay him $3.6 million. That buyout increases to $3.75 million in 2023, $3.9 million in 2024, $4.05 million in 2025 and $4.2 million in 2026.

Cover photo of Justin Wilcox by Neville E. Guard, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo