Memphis, Mike Norvell agree to 5-year, $13 million contract extension

Mike Norvell agreed Tuesday to a five-year, $13 million contract extension to remain the Memphis football coach.

According to two people with direct knowledge of the agreement, Norvell’s new contract runs through the 2022 season. He signed the new deal Tuesday. The extension also increased his salary pool for assistant coaches and football staff by $250,000 to $3.01 million. That $3.01 million is divided between Norvell's nine assistant coaches and additional members of the program's staff.

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Norvell will earn an average annual salary of $2.6 million, which makes him the highest-paid Group of Five coach in the country, according to the USA TODAY college football coaches salary database.

The $250,000 for his staff does not include the salary for a 10th assistant allowed by the NCAA effective Jan. 9.

“I’m elated by the commitment of the university and how much the community has embraced our staff, our players and our football team,” Norvell said in an interview with The Commercial Appeal. “Obviously there had been calls (from other schools), but I wanted to move past any speculation.”

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Norvell announced the news in a tweet Tuesday afternoon sent from his official Twitter account. It included a picture of him signing the contract with Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen. Both were in New York City for Tuesday night’s National Football Foundation awards dinner.

"So excited about the future of Memphis Tiger football and to announce that I have signed an extension to continue to lead this great program," Norvell wrote in his tweet.

Norvell’s name was mentioned in conjunction with numerous jobs in recent weeks, most notably the head coaching vacancy at Arkansas. He previously signed a one-year contract extension through the 2021 season last May that did not increase his compensation package.

Bowen told The Commercial Appeal last month that the sides began negotiating a contract extension about the time of the Tigers' 48-45 win over UCLA on Sept. 16.

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Norvell earned $1.86 million and at least an additional $175,000 in postseason bonuses this year.

Norvell is 18-7 in two seasons at Memphis and led the Tigers to their second 10-win regular season in program history in 2017. Memphis lost to Central Florida in the American Athletic Conference Championship game Saturday and will face Iowa State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Dec. 30 (11:30 a.m. CT, ABC).

“After that game, even though we came up a little bit short, the phone calls and messages made it clear we’re representing Memphis and appreciated in the community,” Norvell said.