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If Curt Cignetti keeps up his current pace, Indiana might give him another new contract before the end of the calendar year.
On Thursday, Indiana signed its football coach to a new eight-year, $93 million contract to stay with the Hoosiers, worth $11.6 million annually. The new deal takes Cignetti from one of the 20 highest paid coaches in college football to the top three. It’s also the third contract Cignetti has signed with the school after coaching just 19 games in Bloomington.
The contract comes less than a week after Indiana upset No. 3 Oregon 30–20 on the road to put the Hoosiers at 6–0 on the season and No. 3 in the latest Associated Press poll, the highest ranking in program history.
The school hired Cignetti from James Madison in December 2023 after he went 52–9 in five seasons with the Dukes. His first contract with Indiana was a six-year deal worth $27 million, an average salary of $4.5 million. That was a big raise from Cignetti’s previous job, where he was making $677,311 at JMU.
Indiana quickly scrapped that initial contract. In 2024, the Hoosiers started 10–0 under Cignetti, leading the school to give him another new deal that November. The Hoosiers finished the season 11–2 after losing to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Cignetti’s second IU contract was an eight-year deal that paid $8 million annually and came with a $1 million retention bonus that made it worth up to $72 million. That contract vaulted Cignetti’s into the top 20 coaching salaries.
Cignetti’s latest contract is more than just a $3 million raise. If IU fires him without cause during the life of the contract, the remaining salary on the $93.25 million deal becomes fully guaranteed according to ESPN. Additionally, the buyout Cignetti would owe the school if he left is $15 million, according to ESPN, after previously being set to drop to $10 million on Dec. 1 under his previous one.
The Hoosiers’ rise in football under Cignetti comes as it has steadily invested more money in the sport. Wealthy alumni including Mark Cuban have started donating to the athletic department in light of Cignetti’s success.
Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson said after signing Cignetti to his newest deal on Thursday that this shows the school is “all-in” on football.
“We didn’t come this far to only come this far,” Dolson said to ESPN. “We’re all-in, and going to continue to invest and make certain that we’ve got our priorities in line. He’s Priority 1, and then it’s retaining our staff, and it’s having the resources to build a roster.”
