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Kansas coach David Beaty will earn $25,000 per Big 12 win

Kansas coach David Beaty will earn $25,000 per Big 12 win

Kansas football is making new coach David Beaty earn his salary.

Beaty, who is the lowest paid coach in the Big 12, will be paid at least $800,000, according to documents obtained by the Kansas City Star, but has the power to increase that number with each conference win.

That’s right, with every Big 12 win, Beaty will be rewarded with $25,000. With nine Big 12 games on the schedule, Beaty has an opportunity to increase his annual salary by 225,000.

However, conference wins have not been easy to come by for the Jayhawks. In the past five seasons, Kansas has just three total conference wins — one in each of the past three years.

The lack of on-field success is likely what caused Kansas to drastically scale back on Beaty’s contract. In 2009, Kansas gave Turner Gill, who was ousted after two seasons, a five-year, $10 million contract. Charlie Weis, who lasted three years, was awarded a five-year, $12.5 million package. Those two men combined for a 12-48 overall record.

Beaty’s contract also is littered with several other incentives including $100,000 for a Big 12 title and $100,000 for a bowl appearance, which is pretty low considering Kansas hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2008, and, in it's history, has earned just one North Division co-championship in 2007 (but did not play in the title game).

Beaty also is only awarded $50,000 for being named AP Coach of the Year and $50,000 for Big 12 Coach of the year. Again, that seems a little low considering the history of Kansas football, which hasn’t been a prosperous one. If Beaty were to win either of those awards, it would mean a drastic shift in Kansas football, like the days of Todd Reesing, Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe Orange Bowl type of shift.

Beaty’s $800,000 salary is comprised of a $225,000 base salary and a $575,000 professional services contract. If the Jayhawks win six games, have no more than six losses and gain bowl eligibility, that professional services contract will increase to $675,000 through the end of the current deal. It is worth noting that Kansas has not had a winning season since 2008.

While these terms might seem a little harsh in today's overly generous college football coaching market, they definitely provide Beaty, a first-year head coach, incentive to get the Jayhawks moving in the right direction. And there’s no doubt that if he does turn the program around, he’ll be able to renegotiate this deal and make a much better wage.

Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!

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