Much to the chagrin of Ohio State’s athletic director, another college football coach is getting paid.
It had previously been reported that Auburn and Gus Malzahn had reached an agreement on a new seven-year deal. Tuesday, the university released the details of the new pact, with Malzahn being paid $6.7 million in the first year of the deal.
He will automatically be given a $100,000 raise every year for the remainder of the deal, maxing out at $7.3 million (before bonuses) in 2024, the final year of the contract.
If Malzahn were to be fired without cause, the university would owe him 75 percent of whatever compensation is left in the deal. For example, if Malzahn were fired following the 2018 season, he would be owed just north of $31.7 million. Conversely, Malzahn would owe the university $7 million if he leaves the Tigers for another job at some point prior to Dec. 3, 2019. That number drops by $2 million each of the following three years; the last two years of the deal, that number is $1 million.
Malzahn’s starting salary of $6.7 million would’ve made him the fourth-highest paid head coach in college football this past season, behind just Alabama’s Nick Saban ($11.2 million), Clemson’s Dabo Swinney ($8.5 million) and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh ($7 million). In 2017, Malzahn’s total compensation of $4.7 million was 11th nationally and third in the SEC.
In five seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, Malzahn has posted a 45-22 record overall and 25-15 in conference play. This past season, AU claimed its first SEC East championship since Malzahn’s first year in 2013.