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Indiana’s Rose Bowl win over Alabama triggered a clause in coach Curt Cignetti’s contract that should earn him at least a $1 million raise after an offseason meeting with university brass.
Cignetti makes $11.6 million per year on a contract that requires a “good faith market review” whenever Indiana makes the College Football Playoff semifinals, which the Hoosiers did with their blowout win over the Crimson Tide on Thursday. If Indiana doesn’t offer him a top-three salary as part of that review, then he’s off the hook for his entire buyout. Ohio State’s Ryan Day currently has the third-highest known coaching salary at $12.5 million.
In just two years with the Hoosiers, Cignetti has turned one of college football’s bottom dwellers into a national powerhouse. Indiana has repeatedly shelled out to make sure Cignetti stays.
His first contract paid $4.5 million annually. The school redid his contract in November 2024 to pay him $8 million a year, and reworked another extension in October to pay $11.6 million per year over eight years. That had him in college football’s top three before Lane Kiffin’s new seven-year, $91 million contract with LSU, which surpassed both Day’s deal and Kirby Smart’s $13.3 million annual salary at Georgia.
Despite being historically known as a basketball school, Indiana has gradually increased its spending in football in recent years, and Cignetti’s contract ensures that continues.
The “good faith market review” clause in Cignetti’s October deal, triggered by Thursday’s win, requires the sides to meet within 120 days after the Hoosiers’ Playoff run ends and adjust his salary to “no less than third (3rd) amongst active head coaches at institutions which are eligible to compete for the CFP,” according to the term sheet, which was reviewed by Front Office Sports. The language also accounts for possible tweaks to the CFP, such as expansion.
The “fair market review” means that Cignetti could leave without owing any of his $15 million buyout if the sides fail to reach a deal and Indiana doesn’t offer a top-three salary by annual value. The clause also says that the two sides could seek “an independent valuation expert to assist with determining market valuations”; the expert’s conclusion would be nonbinding.
The contractually obligated reviews also extend to Cignetti’s coaching staff and program support. Indiana has to engage in a review if the football team’s staff pool ever drops out of the top five in the Big Ten or the top ten nationally “based on agreed-upon market data.”
Cignetti can earn other performance-based bonuses in the CFP. If he beats the Ducks next week, his CFP bonus will be at least $1 million; that bonus maxes out with $2 million for a national title, according to the term sheet.
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