Here are the details on new Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti's 6-year contract

Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times
Indiana's newly announced head coach of football Curt Cignetti speaks to the media on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023.

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football's new coach Curt Cignetti signed a six-year contract with a starting salary of $4 million per year.

The base value of the contract is $25.5 million ($4.25 million a year) without any bonuses.

According to a Memorandum of Understanding Cignetti signed on Nov. 30, he will make an annual base salary of $500,000 and receive an annual outside, marketing and promotion income starting at $3.5 million from Dec. 1, 2023, to Nov. 30, 2024. It increases $100,000 each year of the contract maxing out in 2029 at $4 million.

Cignetti will also receive an annual retention bonus worth $250,000 on Nov. 30 in each contract year.

The coach had an annual salary at James Madison of $677,311, which ranked No. 108 in the USA Today’s annual coaching database.

Former coach Tom Allen’s annual salary was $4.9 million after he received an extension in March 2021.

More: From state title win to official visit: How Indiana football landed prized 2024 QB recruit

The agreement includes several bonuses, most notably, for each bowl appearance. Each time the Hoosiers reach a bowl game, Cignetti will receive a 1-year extension, $250,000 permanent increase to his annual outside, marketing and promotional income as well as a $500,000 increase to the budget for football staff personnel.

There's also a separate one-time $200,000 bonus for each bowl appearance the team makes outside the College Football Playoff.

Among the other bonuses spelled out in the contract are payouts for the highest finish within the Big Ten standings, reaching the College Football Playoff and annual coach of the year awards.

The university also promised him an annual allowance of $10,000 on adidas products, a courtesy car for the term of his employment, tickets and season passes for all home sporting events, unlimited family use of the Pfau Golf Course and meals at the athletic dining facility.

Indiana also will cover Cignetti's buyout at JMU and pay him a $25,000 moving allowance.

After paying out a $15.5 buyout to Tom Allen — that was negotiated down from $20.8 million — Cignetti has a high-priced buyout structure as well:

  • Dec. 1, 2023-Nov. 30 2024: $20 million

  • Dec. 1, 2024-Nov. 30, 2025: $17 million

  • Dec. 1, 2025-Nov. 30, 2026: $14 million

  • Dec. 1, 2026-Nov. 30, 2027: $9 million

  • Dec. 1, 2027-Nov. 30, 2028: $6 million

  • Dec. 1, 2028-Nov. 30, 2029: $3 million

Cignetti would owe the school $8 million in the first year if he resigns, $6 million in Year 2, $4 million in Year 3, $2 million in Year 4 and $1 million in the final two years of the deal.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Curt Cignetti's starting salary is $4 million. It goes up from there

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