College football assistant coaches also have bonuses and perks

Steve Berkowitz | USA TODAY Sports

The contracts of college football and basketball coaches have gained renown for the variety – and sometimes the creativity – of their perks and bonuses, like the provision of private aircraft time and post-retirement employment.

But football assistant coaches' deals aren't bereft of some nice add-ons beyond relatively common items like courtesy cars, country club memberships and free tickets to a wide range of university sports events.

For example:

-- If a San Diego State player wins the Heisman Trophy or is named a first-team all-American, each Aztecs assistant can get a bonus equal to 1% of his then-current base salary.

-- Alabama paid the $75,000 buyout wide receivers coach Billy Napier owed Florida State for leaving the Seminoles program only about a month after leaving Colorado State to join the FSU staff.

-- Under Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio's contract, if Dantonio is named Big Ten Conference coach of the year or the national coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association, bonus money is put into a pool that is allocated among Dantonio, his assistants and the program's administrative staff. The Big Ten award puts $25,000 in the pool, the national award $50,000.

-- Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Ted Roof can get a $10,000 bonus for each of the following categories -- $50,000 total -- if the Yellow Jackets finish equal or better than fifth in the ACC – against ACC opponents only – in scoring defense, total defense, third-down defense, red-zone defense, takeaways gained.

-- Under an amendment to Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster's contract that was signed in September 2010, if Foster remains the Hokies' defensive coordinator through Dec. 31, 2014, the school will contribute $800,000 on his behalf to a deferred-pay plan. Foster also would get this money if head coach Frank Beamer departs before Dec. 31, 2014, as long as Foster has been the Hokies' defensive coordinator through the date of Beamer's departure. If Foster's employment as the defensive coordinator is terminate for any reason on or prior to Dec. 31, 2014 for any reason, he gets none of the money.

-- Under Purdue head coach Darrell Hazell's contract, the spouses of Purdue assistants get to travel to one Boilermakers away road game at Purdue's expense. If the team plays in a bowl game, each assistant's spouse and dependent children get to travel to the game at Purdue's expense.

-- Virginia associate head coach for offense Tom O'Brien, defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta and offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild each have a set of bonuses that includes being able to get $5,000 for each player on their respective side of the ball who is named first- or second-team all-ACC. They would each get $10,000 for each player on their side of the ball who is selected to an all-American team.

-- Florida assistant coaches each get $10,000 from the athletics department's outfitting deal with Nike.

-- Maryland offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who also is known for his recruiting, gets a $25,000 bonus if Maryland is in the top 40 of the Rivals.com or Scout.com national recruiting rankings on national signing day. He gets a $20,000 bonus if Maryland is in the top four among Atlantic Coast Conference teams by Rivals.com or Scout.com on national signing day.

-- UCLA's assistants are required to work at camps and clinics, as assigned by the head coach; following the final camp or clinic each summer, each assistant gets paid $10,000 for that work.

-- Georgia not only provides its assistants with a car (or an allowance for a car lease or purchase), it also agrees to reimburse the coaches for the cost of their car insurance. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham gets to be reimbursed a small additional amount for gas, oil, maintenance and any other car expenses.

-- In addition to being able to get bonuses for the team's on-field and academic performance, Boise State's assistants can get an increase in salary for their next contract term depending on the team's success. They can get one of the following raises: up to 5% for winning eight regular season games, up to 7.5% for winning 10 games regular season games and/or a Mountain West Conference division title, or up to 10% for winning the conference championship game.

-- For the 2013 season, South Alabama's assistants were able to get a bonus equal to 30% of one month's salary if the team won five games, or a bonus equal to 50% of a month's salary if the team won six games and was not selected for a bowl game.