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03/02 13:48 CST Indiana's Curt Cignetti cashes in on title run with 8-year
extension worth $13.2 million per year
Indiana's Curt Cignetti cashes in on title run with 8-year extension worth
$13.2 million per year
By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is cashing in on his first national championship
run --- even more than initially expected.
Athletic department officials announced Monday that the two-time national coach
of the year has signed a memorandum of understanding on an eight-year contract
extension, paying him an annual average of $13.2 million --- or an increase of
about $1.6 million per year from what school officials said Cignetti would earn
when he first agreed to the extension in October.
School officials released the document Cignetti signed Feb. 4.
He joins Georgia coach Kirby Smart and LSU coach Lane Kiffin as the only active
Football Bowl Subdivision coaches to receive paychecks of $13 million or more.
The payouts could be even higher if Cignetti earns bonuses for winning Big Ten
or national coach of the year honors in addition to playoff appearances and
conference titles. The 64-year-old Cignetti already has said he hopes to retire
at Indiana.
The new deal calls for a base salary of $500,000 per year through the 2033
season and a $1 million retention bonus on Nov. 30 of each year, starting this
fall. The remaining portion of the $105.6 million will be collected from
outside, promotional and marketing income.
Cignetti initially agreed to an eight-year extension worth $92.8 million --- an
annual average of $11.6 million --- but university officials agreed to modify
the deal as the Hoosiers remained undefeated and pursued the first football
national championship in school history.
It's the third time Cignetti has received a raise since he took over the
losingest program in FBS history in November 2024. All he's done since arriving
is produce the two best seasons in school history while becoming one of college
football's fan favorites for his quick quips and unique facial expressions.
Players have embraced him, too, telling many of their favorite Cignetti tales.
Just ask tight end Riley Nowakowski, who recounted his favorite Cignetti story
during the recent NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
"I think (Alberto Mendoza) was in the game, and he pulled like four runs in a
row," Nowakowski said, referring to last season's victory over Illinois. "He
kept pulling it, kept pulling it, kept pulling it, and then after the fourth
time, it was a terrible read. So in the middle of the game, (Cignetti) tells
our coach, ?Get (Alberto) over here.' Bert's like, ?What, it's the middle of a
game, what are you doing?' And (Cignetti) goes, ?We're not paying you to run
the ball, hand the ball off, right? We're up like 70 points, but he's pissed
off, yelling at Bert, and (Cignetti) just turned back at me and gave me one of
his little smiles, and he was just like, 'You like that now?'"
Cignetti wasted no time delivering on his promise to win after leading James
Madison to the most successful transition from the Football Championship
Subdivision to the FBS.
The son of Hall of Fame coach Frank Cignetti and a former Alabama assistant led
Indiana to a school record 11 wins and its first College Football Playoff
appearance in his first season with the Hoosiers.
Last season, he outdid that mark by producing the first 16-0 mark in major
college football since the 1890s. The Hoosiers also won their first outright
Big Ten crown since 1945, beat Miami on its home field to claim the national
title and shed the label of having the most all-time losses in FBS history.
Mendoza's older brother, Fernando, also became the first Indiana player to win
the Heisman Trophy and is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL
draft.
The reward: A record nine players, including Mendoza and Nowakowski, attended
the recent combine in Indianapolis while Cignetti got another pay raise and
school officials continued to invest heavily in keeping the coach's staff
together.
Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines
each agreed to three-year contract extensions worth about $3 million per year
in December, making them two of the highest-paid assistants in the FBS. Haines
won this year's Broyles Award, which goes to the nation's top assistant coach.
Indiana will begin next season with the longest winning streak (16) and longest
home winning streak (15) in the FBS. Cignetti has never lost a home game with
the Hoosiers, who open defense of their league and national titles at home
against North Texas on Sept. 5.
___
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