College football head coaches end season at $13.6 million in bonuses from public schools
The outcomes of bowl games, the College Football Playoff and final poll rankings released Tuesday gave public-school head coaches just over $1.8 million in bonuses, according to tracking by USA TODAY Sports based on contracts acquired through open-records requests.
That increased the head coaches’ total for the season to nearly $13.6 million, a figure that does not include forfeited amounts or the value of automatic contract extensions and pay increases that coaches picked up.
The total for the 2021 season is roughly 2½ times more than what head coaches got last season, when the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts included all manner of changes to bonus provisions.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart added $250,000 for the Bulldogs winning their CFP semifinal over Michigan and another $200,000 for Monday night’s national championship victory over Alabama. He ends with $850,000, a total that also includes $50,000 for being named Southeastern Conference coach of the year. His assistant coaches will be getting just over $2.1 million in bonuses.
Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell matched Smart’s $450,000 postseason total. Chadwell will be getting $200,000 for the Chanticleers’ bowl victory, which was over Northern Illinois in the Cure Bowl. He’ll be getting $250,000 more for the team finishing among the top 50 teams in either the USA TODAY Sports AFCA coaches poll, the AP poll or Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings. Coastal Carolina was No. 57 in Sagarin’s rankings, but it was 31st among the 34 teams receiving votes in the coaches poll and 33rd among the 35 receiving votes from the AP panel.
Altogether, Chadwell will be due $600,000 in bonuses – an amount that is nearly three-fourths of his $871,250 in basic annual pay from the school for 2021. Smart’s basic pay from Georgia was $7 million.
Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, San Diego State’s Brady Hoke, Houston’s Dana Holgorsen and Utah State’s Blake Anderson also picked up bonuses Tuesday, based on their respective teams’ final rankings. Ferentz will get $125,000 because the Hawkeyes finished No. 25 through No. 21 (they were No. 23 in both polls). They other rankings amounts range from $15,000 to $25,000.
For the season, the top bonus totals belong to:
►Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh: $2 million, which he has said he will donate his bonus money to other Michigan athletics department employees whose pay was reduced because of financial issues related to the pandemic.
►Ferentz: $925,000, which gives him a total of $5.1 million in bonuses over the past seven seasons.
►Smart: $850,000.
►Alabama’s Nick Saban: $725,000, including the $200,000 for Crimson Tide’s CFP semifinal victory over Cincinnati.
►Utah’s Kyle Whittingham: $655,000, not including a $75,000 bonus he’ll be getting based on the team’s recently published NCAA Graduation Success Rate.
Joining Chadwell with amounts of at least $500,000 are Mississippi's Lane Kiffin, Kentucky's Mark Stoops and Cincinnati's Luke Fickell. Mario Cristobal hit benchmarks worth $650,000 while coaching Orgeon, but he departed for Miami without coaching the Ducks in their bowl game, so he forfeited that money.
Here is a school-by-school list for all coaches, alphabetical by school:
Alabama: Nick Saban
►$65,000: Sixth win, eligible for bowl game not among with the six connected to the College Football Playoff.
►$25,000: 9-1 record assures that team will be playing in one of Southeastern Conference's top seven non-CFP bowl games
►$75,000: Win SEC West Division title
►$110,000: 11-1 record all but assures that team will be playing in one of the six bowl games connected to the CFP
►$50,000: Win SEC title
►$200,000: Team selected to play in CFP semifinals
►$200,000: Win CFP semifinal
***
Alabama at Birmingham: Bill Clark
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$25,000: Eighth regular season win
***
Appalachian State: Shawn Clark
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$25,000: Win Sun Belt Conference East Division title
►$25,000: Ninth win of the season
►$25,000: Win non-CFP bowl game
***
Arizona State: Herm Edwards
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$100,000: Eighth regular season win
***
Arkansas: Sam Pittman
►$100,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►One-year contract extension for bowl appearance. (Agreement now set to run through Dec. 31, 2026.)
►$250,000 pay increase, beginning with next contract year: Sixth regular season win
►Additional $250,000 pay increase, beginning with next contract year: Seventh regular season win.
►Additional $250,000 pay increase, beginning with next contract year: Eighth regular season win. (Compensation for additional contract year now scheduled to be $3.75 million, with at least $1.875 million guaranteed.)
►$50,000: Increase in bowl-appearance bonus with team's selection to an SEC "Group of Six" bowl game
***
Auburn, Bryan Harsin
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Ball State, Mike Neu
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Boise State, Andy Avalos
►$15,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
California: Justin Wilcox
►$25,000: Win over Stanford
***
Central Florida: Gus Malzahn
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$25,000: Win non-CFP bowl game
***
Central Michigan: Jim McElwain
►$20,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$7,500: Seventh win of the season
►$2,500: Eighth win of the season
►$25,000: Win bowl game
►$2,500: Ninth win of the season
***
Cincinnati: Luke Fickell
►$75,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$30,000: 10th regular win
►$40,000: 11th regular win
►$50,000: 12th regular win
►$50,000: Win share of American Athletic Conference regular season title
►$25,000: AAC coach of the year
►$50,000: Win AAC title
►$175,000: Team selected to play in any CFP-affiliated game
►$50,000: Team in top 25 of final CFP rankings
***
Clemson: Dabo Swinney
►$50,000: Eligible for non-CFP bowl game with least eight wins
***
Coastal Carolina: Jamey Chadwell
►$150,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$200,000: Win bowl game
►$250,000: Team finished among top 50 in final Coaches or AP media rankings or Jeff Sagarin computer rankings (No. 31 in Coaches, No. 33 in AP)
***
East Carolina: Mike Houston
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Eastern Michigan: Chris Creighton
►$25,000 bonus; $10,000 pay increase, beginning in next contract year; and one-year contract extension: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game (Agreement now set to run through Dec. 31, 2026. Compensation for additional year scheduled to be $600,000, with $530,000 guaranteed.)
►$10,000: Seventh win of the season
***
Fresno State: Kalen DeBoer
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$25,000: Seventh regular season win
►$25,000: Eighth regular season win
►One-year contract extension: Fifth Mountain West Conference win, in combination with certainty of having winning overall regular season record (Agreement now set to run through Jan. 1, 2026. Compensation for additional year scheduled to be $1.55 million, with $1.24 million guaranteed.)
►$25,000: Ninth regular season win
***
Georgia: Kirby Smart
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$100,000: Win SEC East title, will play in SEC championship game
►$25,000: 10-0 record assures that team will be playing in one of Southeastern Conference's top seven non-CFP bowl games
►$100,000: 12-0 record all but assures that team will be playing in one of the six bowl games connected to the CFP.
►$75,000: Team selected to play in CFP semifinals
►$50,000: SEC coach of the year
►$250,000: Win CFP semifinal
►$200,000: Win CFP championship
***
Georgia State: Shawn Elliott
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$25,000 bonus and $25,000 pay increase beginning in next contract year: Win bowl game
***
Hawaii: Todd Graham
►$20,000: Team invited to play in Hawaii Bowl
***
Houston: Dana Holgorsen
►$10,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$10,000: Clinch appearance in American Athletic Conference championship game
►$10,000: Win non-CFP bowl game
►$20,000: Team finished among top 25 in final Coaches and AP media rankings (No. 17 in both)
***
Iowa: Kirk Ferentz
►$100,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$500,000: Eighth win
►$200,000: Win Big Ten Conference West Division title, play in conference championship game
►$125,000: Team finished No. 25 through No. 21 in final Coaches and AP media rankings (No. 23 in both)
***
Iowa State: Matt Campbell
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$250,000: Seventh regular season win
***
Kansas State: Chris Klieman
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Kent State: Sean Lewis
►$15,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$10,000: Win Mid-American Conference East Division title
***
Kentucky: Mark Stoops
►$100,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►One-year contract extension: Seventh win. (Agreement now set to run through June 30, 2027. Compensation for additional year scheduled to be $6.5 million, with $4.875 million guaranteed.)
NOTE: On Dec. 15, the parties executed a two-year contract extension, running through June 30, 2028. Under that deal, Stoops' compensation is increasing to an annual rate of $6.75 million as of Jan. 1, 2022. The agreement calls for $250,000 annual increases, beginning July 1, 2023, meaning the final year of the deal is now scheduled to be worth $8 million. The annual amounts are 75% guaranteed.
►$250,000: Ninth win
►$250,000: Tenth win
***
Louisville: Scott Satterfield
►$100,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Marshall: Charles Huff
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Maryland: Mike Locksley
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$35,000: Win non-CFP bowl game
***
Memphis: Ryan Silverfield
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Miami (Ohio): Chuck Martin
►$23,335: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Michigan: Jim Harbaugh
►$500,000: Win share of Big Ten East Division title, play in conference championship game
►$1,000,000: Win Big Ten title
►$500,000: Team selected to play in CFP semifinals
***
Michigan State: Mel Tucker
►$75,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$50,000: Improved bowl bonus based on team being Big Ten Conference's No. 2 or No. 3 overall team
►$25,000: Big Ten coach of the year
►$125,000: Team selected to play in CFP non-semifinal
***
Middle Tennessee: Rick Stockstill
►$68,475: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►One-year contract extension: Bowl win means team finished season with a winning overall record (Agreement now set to run through Dec. 31, 2028. Compensation for additional year scheduled to be $910,504 with $821,704 guaranteed.)
***
Minnesota: P.J. Fleck
►$75,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$100,000: Eighth regular season win
►$50,000: Bowl win over a team from a Power Five conference other than the Big Ten.
***
Mississippi: Lane Kiffin
►$100,000: Regular season win over non-conference Power 5 team (Louisville)
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►One-year contract extension: Seventh win (Agreement now set to run through Dec. 31, 2025. According to a recent term sheet from the university, Kiffin's annual pay will increase to $7.25 million, beginning Jan. 1, 2022. That is up from the previously scheduled amount of $5.25 million, and it is set to increase by $100,000 annually. The guaranteed value of the new deal is not available because that is determined, in part, by an agreement with the Ole Miss Athletic Foundation, a private, non-profit organization that declines to provide that agreement.
►$50,000: 8-2 record assures that team will be playing in one of Southeastern Conference's top seven non-CFP bowl games
►$150,000: Fifth SEC win of the season
►$150,000: Sixth SEC win of the season
►$150,000: Team selected to play in CFP non-semifinal
***
Mississippi State: Mike Leach
►$75,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$25,000: Increase in bowl-appearance bonus with team's selection to an SEC "Group of Six" bowl game
***
Missouri: Eli Drinkwitz
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Nevada: Jay Norvell
►$25,000: Win over Power 5 team (Arizona)
►$25,000: Win over Nevada-Las Vegas
►$15,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$25,000: Seventh regular season win
►$25,000: Eighth regular season win
***
North Carolina: Mack Brown
►$75,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
North Carolina State: Dave Doeren
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$50,000: Eighth win of the season
►$50,000: Ninth win of the season
►$50,000: Team No. 25 through No. 16 in final CFP rankings (was No. 18)
***
North Texas: Seth Littrell
►$35,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Northern Illinois: Thomas Hammock
►$15,000: Win over Power 5 team (Arizona)
►$10,000: Win Mid-American Conference West Division title
►$25,000: MAC coach of the year
►$25,000: Win MAC title
***
Ohio State: Ryan Day
►$50,000: Win share of Big Ten Conference East Division title
►$200,000: Team selected to play in CFP non-semifinal
***
Oklahoma: Lincoln Riley
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Oklahoma State: Mike Gundy
►$62,500: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$62,500: Team selected to play in CFP non-semifinal
***
Old Dominion: Ricky Rahne
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Oregon: Mario Cristobal
►$150,000: Eligible for non-CFP bowl game with at least seven wins
►$200,000 and 1-year contract extension: Ninth regular season win. (Agreement now set to run through Jan. 14, 2027. Compensation for additional year scheduled to be $5 million, with $3.8 million guaranteed.)
►$200,000: Tenth regular season win
►$100,000: Win Pac-12 North Division title
***
Oregon State: Jonathan Smith
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►One-year contract extension for bowl appearance. (Agreement now set to run through Feb. 28, 2027. Compensation for additional year scheduled to be $3 million, with $1.5 million guaranteed.)
***
Penn State: James Franklin
►$200,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
**
Purdue: Jeff Brohm
►$112,500: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$37,500: Seventh regular season win
►$30,000: Eighth regular season win
►$45,000: Tied for second in Big Ten West Division final standings
**
San Diego State: Brady Hoke
►$10,000: Win over Power 5 team (Arizona State)
►$10,000: Win over Power 5 team (Utah)
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$25,000: Win Mountain West Conference West Division title, play in conference championship game
►$15,000: Mountain West coach of the year
►$25,000: Team finished No. 25 through No. 16 in final Coaches or AP media rankings (No. 25 in AP)
***
South Carolina: Shane Beamer
►$100,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Tennessee: Josh Heupel
►$100,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher
►$100,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Texas-El Paso: Dana Dimel
►$2,500: Beat New Mexico State
►$59,333: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Texas-San Antonio: Jeff Traylor
►$25,000: Regular season win over Power 5 team (Illinois)
►$50,000: Sixth regular season win
►$100,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$50,000: Seventh regular season win
►$50,000: Eighth regular season win
►$100,000: Ninth regular season win
►$100,000: Win Conference USA West Division title
►$25,000: Win Conference USA title
***
Toledo: Jason Candle
►$20,000: Sixth regular season win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$10,000: Seventh regular season win
***
UCLA: Chip Kelly
►$10,000: Sixth regular season win
►$40,000: Eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$10,000: Seventh regular season win
►$10,000: Eighth regular season win
***
Utah: Kyle Whittingham
►$15,000: Team ranked in top 25 at any time during season
►$241,667: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$100,000: Win Pac-12 Conference South Division title, play in conference championship game
►$158,333: Win Pac-12 title, play in any CFP bowl game
►$85,000: Team in top 25 of final CFP rankings
►$55,000: Pac-12 coach of the year
***
Utah State: Blake Anderson
►$75,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$25,000: Win Mountain West Conference Mountain Division title, play in conference championship game
►$50,000: Win Mountain West Conference title
►$15,000: Team finished No. 25 through No, 21 in final Coaches or AP media rankings (No. 24 in both)
***
Virginia: Bronco Mendenhall
►$75,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
West Virginia: Neal Brown
►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
***
Western Kentucky: Tyson Helton
►$50,000: Eighth win assures that team will finish season with winning overall record
►$50,000: Win bowl game
***
Western Michigan: Tim Lester
►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$10,000: Seventh regular season win
►$14,500: Nine players selected to Mid-American Conference all-conference teams
►$25,000: Win non-CFP bowl game
***
Wisconsin: Paul Chryst
►Unspecified share of staff bonus pool (amount in pool is 2% of defined staff payroll of $5.58 million): Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►Staff bonus pool increased to 4% of defined payroll: Seventh win ($223,200 in pool)
►Staff bonus pool increased to 7% of defined payroll: Eighth win ($390,600 in pool)
***
Wyoming: Craig Bohl
►$27,709: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game
►$25,000: Win bowl game
Follow colleges reporter Steve Berkowitz on Twitter @ByBerkowitz
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football head coach bonuses total about $13.6 million
