How much was Jermaine Wiggins paid as Brockton High football coach? We got the real answer
BROCKTON — Jermaine Wiggins, the former New England Patriots player who was ousted as the Brockton High School football coach after only one season, was paid according to the union contract despite rumors that he earned far more.
The Enterprise has learned through a public records request that Wiggins was paid $15,339 for 2023-2024, the only season he was employed by the district.
Rumors swirled on social media in the months following Wiggins' hiring, with some comments in private Brockton Facebook groups suggesting that he was being paid upward of $100,000.
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Did Wiggins have a contract?
Wiggins didn't have an employee contract with Brockton Public Schools, but instead earned a coaching stipend, according to Bou Lim, a records accessor officer for the district.
The $15,339 stipend was consistent with the Brockton Education Association salary schedule for coaches for the school year that began in September 2023.
How much did Peter Colombo make?
Former longtime football head coach Peter Colombo earned a coaching stipend of $15,490 in 2022-23, a few hundred dollars higher than the salary schedule for that year. The head football coach position is set to earn $15,492 for the school year beginning in September 2024, per the union contract.
Wiggins confirms stipend amount
Wiggins told The Enterprise in an email that he only earned the $15,339 stipend during his time in Brockton, but declined to comment further.
Why was Wiggins ousted?
Wiggins, a cohost on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show," stepped down as the head football coach in December 2023 after just one season at the helm. Despite a district spokesperson saying it was Wiggins' decision, the former NFL player said on WEEI that it was not his decision.
Wiggins said it came down to him not being a union member in the Brockton Education Association.
"There had been some complaints about me not being in the union and they chose to go in a different direction," he said. "I was stunned my damn self. I was like, all right, I'm not going to cry over spilled milk. If some people are complaining about me not being a union guy and everything like that, I mean … I feel bad for the kids."
The Brockton Education Association contract states preference for coaching positions “shall be given to a Unit B Member when a Unit B Member has equal or greater qualifications than another applicant.” Unit B includes most “professional employees” of the Brockton School Department.
Wiggins suggested that the tone changed in part due to the district's discovery of a $14.4 million deficit for fiscal year 2023 that now appears to be closer to $20 million. He said the person who hired him had been defending him for being a non-union member but that person was "let go" because of the overspending saga. It wasn't clear who hired Wiggins.
Enterprise senior reporter Cody Shepard can be reached by email at cshepard@enterprisenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Here's how much Jermaine Wiggins made coaching Brockton High football
