Dabo Swinney agrees to largest contract in college football history

David Hood by Senior Writer -

CLEMSON – Clemson University has agreed to a new contract with head football coach Dabo Swinney that will make him the highest paid coach in the country in total compensation. The contract was ratified at a Board of Trustees Compensation Committee meeting early Friday.

The new 10-year deal is expected to pay Swinney an average of $9.3 million per season. That puts him just behind Alabama’s Nick Saban, who makes $9.44 million per year. However, in terms of total compensation, Swinney has the largest contract in the country at $93 million over 10 years. Saban currently has a six-year contract.

Terms

Year Base Salary Supplemental Licensing Total

2019 $245,000 $5,505,000 $2,500,000 $8,250,000

2020 $245,000 $5,505,000 $2,500,000 $8,250,000

2021 $245,000 $5,755,000 $2,500,000 $8,500,000

2022 $245,000 $5,755,000 $2,500,000 $8,500,000

2023 $245,000 $6,005,000 $2,500,000 $8,750,000

2024 $245,000 $6,255,000 $2,500,000 $9,000,000

2025 $245,000 $6,505,000 $2,500,000 $9,250,000

2026 $245,000 $6,755,000 $2,500,000 $9,500,000

2027 $245,000 $7,255,000 $2,500,000 $10,000,000

2028 $245,000 $7,255,000 $2,500,000 $10,000,000

Split Dollar Life Premium (executed by Sept 1, 2019) $1,000,000

Retention Bonus (payable Spring 2021) $1,000,000

Retention Bonus (payable Spring 2023) $1,000,000

1 “True up” for 2019 CY annual comp increase

Total (all Compensation + Retention & S/D) $93,000,000 ($9.30M APY)

Swinney, 49, ranked seventh nationally in salary last year according to USA Today ($6.54M). He finished 2017 No. 2 in overall salary after a signing a contract that was set to average $6.75 million over eight years.

Swinney earned over $1 million in bonuses last season. He earned $50,000 for winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division and $150,000 for winning the ACC Championship Game. He added $200,000 for earning a berth to the College Football Playoff and another $25,000 for winning ACC Coach of the Year.

The victory against Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl Classic semifinal awarded Swinney another $200,000. He added $250,000 for winning the CFP National Championship Game.

In 11 years (10 full seasons) as the Tigers’ head coach, Swinney has directed Clemson to a 116-30 overall record (.795, best by a Tiger coach) and 69-16 ACC regular-season mark (.812). He has also led the Tigers to the ACC Championship Game six times, won five ACC titles, won or shared seven ACC Atlantic Division titles and won nine bowl games (seven against top-10 teams). His teams have compiled 30 wins over ranked teams in his head-coaching career, including 15 over top-10 opponents.

Swinney is also the first coach in program history to lead Clemson to multiple national championships.

Swinney and Clemson’s 2018 season was one for which statistics and superlatives accumulated in historic fashion. The Tigers became the first major college football team in the modern era (and the first since the Penn Quakers in 1897) to finish a season 15-0.