No raise in Richt’s new deal

AP

When Georgia announced in the middle of March that Mark Richt had agreed to a contract extension, it was noted that the financial details were in the process of being finalized.

While dotting of the contractual i’s and crossing of the t’s still remains, one certainty of the eventual financial details will be that the Bulldogs head coach won’t be receiving a bump in annual compensation.  he will, though, have the opportunity to earn even more money under the terms of the new deal.

At a meeting of UGA’s athletic board Thursday, details of the proposed new contract for Richt were presented to the group, with athletic director Greg McGarity confirming the long-time football coach will continue to make in the neighborhood of $2.9 million a year.  The new deal will include, however, incentives that are nearly double what he had previously been eligible to earn.

In essence, Richt will likely be eligible for upwards of $800,000 in bonuses in the future.  From the Macon Telegraph:

Under Richt’s current deal, the most he can receive for performance bonuses is $350,000. He receives $25,000 for winning the SEC East and $50,000 more for winning the conference title. He also receives $25,000 for making a bowl, and $50,000 more if it is a BCS bowl. He receives $50,000 for finishing in the final top five of the AP or coaches’ poll. And he receives $150,000 for winning the BCS title.

Richt also receives $50,000 for finishing in the top one-third of the SEC in both the APR and Graduation Success Rate.

For a coach who was considered to be sitting squarely on the proverbial hot seat just a year ago, however, the new contract is more about job “security” and less about the guaranteed compensation.  Richt’s old deal was scheduled to run through the 2013 season; the new one will run through the 2016 season.

For recruiting, the lifeblood of any football program and especially in the hyper-competitive SEC, that very public commitment is immeasurably more important than a few extra dollars, relatively speaking, per year.