Exactly 10 days after Purdue finalized the hiring of Darrell Hazell as its new head football coach, the school has done the same with his contract. And, suffice to say, Hazell won’t be forced to decide between Hydrox and Oreos at any point in the near future.
Purdue confirmed via a press release that Hazell’s new contract is for six years and will pay the coach $2 million annually in guaranteed compensation. Of that, $250,000 is the base university salary while the other $1.75 million is considered a supplemental stipend consisting of compensation for radio, television, and other development and marketing appearances.
At Kent State in 2012, Hazell made $300,000 in guaranteed compensation. He also had a $725,000 buyout built into his KSU deal, which he is paying off via an interest-free loan from his new employer included in his new contract. The release states that "[t]he loan will be forgiven in installments over time as Hazell meets the conditions of his Purdue contract.”
To put Purdue’s commitment to Hazell into the proper financial perspective, Danny Hope made $970,000 in his fourth and last season with the Boilermakers in 2012. Hazell also has the opportunity to earn $1 million in bonuses; Hope’s bonus potential topped out at $779,000.
(Writer’s note: excellent work, Mr. Kopp. Excellent work.)
As part of his Purdue contract, Hazell will have a compensation pool of $2.1 million for the hiring of assistant coaches.