After yet another year of exceeding expectations, Mark Dantonio received a new contract at Michigan State.
And he's still underpaid.
The contract remains a rolling six-year deal that ups Dantonio's salary from $3.67 million to $4.3 million with a one-time $4.3 million bonus should remain in East Lansing through Jan. 15, 2020. If Dantonio retires before the Jan. 15, 2020 date, he will be provided a one-year appointment for Michigan State at a $1 million salary.
Dantonio's contract takes him from fourth in the Big Ten East to... fourth in the Big Ten East. James Franklin raked in $4.4 million in 2015, according to the USA Todaycoaching salary database, while Ohio State's Urban Meyer sat at just shy of $6 million and Jim Harbaugh trailed only Nick Saban at $7 million.
The contract breaks out as follows:
• $2,264,480 base compensation
• $1,000,000 supplemental compensation
• $700,000 contingent annual bonus
• $185,520 benefits
• $100,000 Nike shoe/apparel agreement
• $50,000 guaranteed performance incentives
The Spartans have also provided Dantonio an additional quarter million bucks to pay his assistant coaches.
• co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach Dave Warner – $447,184
• assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett – $437,434
• co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Jim Bollman – $437,434
• co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Mike Tressel – $437,434
• quarterbacks coach/recruiting coordinator Brad Salem – $337,686
• offensive line coach Mark Staten – $337,686
• defensive line coach Ron Burton – $327,687
• wide receivers coach Terrence Samuel – $327,687
• linebackers/special teams coach Mark Snyder – $327,687
“With a berth in the College Football Playoff this past season, Coach Dantonio has again shown his excellence in building a nationally prominent football program,” MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon said in a statement. “He is an outstanding leader committed to MSU’s values who empowers his players to become the best Spartans they can be, whether on the field, in the classroom or as part of the MSU community.”
Dantonio is 105-50 in nine seasons at Michigan State, but 65-16 since with five top-15 finishes since 2010 and 36-5 with three top-10 finishes and two Big Ten championships over his past three seasons. The Spartans claimed their second Big Ten title in three seasons this past fall despite losing longtime defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi to a head coaching position and a number of key players throughout the year, defeating both Michigan and Ohio State on the road en route to the title.