Indiana on Monday released details of Curt Cignetti's new contract, which was agreed upon last week.
Cignetti will earn $7.3 million in compensation for the 2025 football season, plus an annual $1 million retention bonus. His deal will top out at $8.7 million in 2032, the final year of the contract. The deal officially begins Dec. 1 and expires on Nov. 30, 2032. Cignetti made $4.25 million in base salary under his original contract.
Cignetti would owe $13 million if he left after this season, a figure that drops to $10 million after next season, and decreases to $1 million in the final year of the contract. Indiana would owe Cignetti 85 percent of the remaining base contract should it fire him without cause.
"The fact of the matter is we're the emerging superpower in college football," Cignetti said last Saturday, the day the new deal was announced. "Why would I leave?"
However, if IU reaches the College Football Playoff at any point during the contract, including this season, Cignetti's deal becomes fully guaranteed. Cignetti's buyout comes with a duty to mitigate and would be offset by salary paid by a future employer.
Details via Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star:
In addition to the $1 million annual retention bonus, the first of which will be paid Saturday, Cignetti is eligible for $100,000 for achieving a fifth Big Ten win and $150,000 for a sixth Big Ten win, $250,000 for finishing in the top six of the Big Ten and $1 million for a Big Ten title, $500,000 for reaching the College Football Playoff and $2 million for a national championship. He can also earn $50,000 for a Big Ten coach of the year award and $100,000 for a national coach of the year honor.
“Since arriving on campus, coach Cignetti has been the architect of one of college football’s greatest turnarounds and has shown the world that IU is also a football school,” IU president Pamela Whitten said in a statement. “Coach Cignetti exemplifies IU’s goal to win in all that we do. The success he has brought to Indiana football is shining a light on all that is amazing about Indiana University. We are excited that coach Cignetti and his wonderful family will be a part of the Hoosier Nation for many years to come.”
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