Million-Dollar Bonuses on the Line for Bowl-Bound College Coaches

When Clemson defeated Florida State, 23-13, on November 7, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney had plenty to celebrate. With the win, his team clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference's Atlantic Division. They remained unbeaten and on track to compete for a national title.

The victory also triggered a $50,000 bonus for Swinney—an amount slightly less than the U.S. median household income of $53,657, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. When Clemson's season finally ends that might be just the tip of his money iceberg.

It's that time of year again, when millionaire coaches can add to their bounty with division titles, conference championships, bowl wins, and postseason coaching honors, while the 18- to 23-year-old kids who helped them get there can't accept a penny if they want to retain their eligibility.

The extra earnings come courtesy of contract clauses, negotiated by the coaches and their agents, and are largely paid for with revenue from tickets, television, sponsorships, and university funds. The numbers have gotten so large that we have become numb to them—a few hundred thousand here, a few hundred thousand there. (Meanwhile, only 24 of the 125 schools in the NCAA's top division can pay their bills without student and taxpayer subsidies, according to the NCAA.) I obtained the contracts of several high profile coaches through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Swinney isn't the only coach to benefit from this system. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz is having a good year, too. He earned a $200,000 bonus—well more than Iowa's median home price of $130,300, according to Zillow.com—when the Hawkeyes beat Purdue, 40-20, last weekend to clinch the Big Ten West Division. This week holds special significance for Ferentz. He could bump that to $250,000 if Iowa (11-0, 7-0) beats Nebraska (5-6, 3-4) Friday to finish the Big Ten regular season undefeated, or by winning the Big Ten championship December 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Iowa was ranked No. 5 by the College Football Playoff committee last week, and will likely move higher following No. 3 Ohio State's 17-14 loss to No. 9 Michigan State on Saturday. A Top 5 finish in the Associated Press, USA Today, or ESPN poll earns Ferentz $350,000. That jumps to $500,000 for a No. 2 ranking, and $1.5 million if they finish the year No. 1.

Altogether, between bonuses tied to titles and coaching accolades, Ferentz could potentially earn $2.275 million on top of his $4.075 million salary.

Coaches at top schools already receive the best that money can buy to do their jobs: huge staffs of assistants, medical personnel, athletic trainers, team psychologists, and nutritionists; indoor practice fields; private jets for their personal use—the list goes on. Yet when those coaches, with every conceivable advantage, accomplish what they were hired to do, they want a bonus. It's like a highly talented and sought-after engineer gets hired to design a drawbridge and then, upon seeing that it works, says, "I want a bonus." Isn't that what you were paid to do in the first place?

Alabama Coach Nick Saban is the highest-paid coach in football with a $6.9 million salary this season. He stands to earn as much as $600,000 in bonus money.

If the No. 2 Crimson Tide (10-1, 6-1) beat in-state rival Auburn (6-5, 2-5) on the road this Saturday, they earn a trip to the SEC title game against Florida and guarantee Saban a $75,000 bonus, which jumps to $125,000 with a victory.

Saban already earned $65,000 when the team became bowl eligible after a 41-23 victory at Texas A&M October 17. That bonus increases to $200,000 if Alabama plays in the College Football Playoff semifinal game, $300,000 if it advances to the championship, and $400,000 if it wins the national title.

Add $25,000 for SEC Coach of the Year and $50,000 for National Coach of the Year honors, and Saban will have quite the nest egg.

But perhaps we're being a little hard on the old ball coach. Consider Michigan State's Mark Dantonio, who earns $3.436 million in salary and could get as much as $700,000 in bonus money this season. There's a catch, though: Dantonio is only guaranteed $75,000 of that. The athletic director divides the rest between Dantonio, his assistant coaches, and the administrative staff, so everyone gets to share in the pot. It's a small concession to divide up the money, but noteworthy nonetheless.

Clemson's Swinney has a much better deal. The Tigers enter the final weekend of the regular season still undefeated and ranked at No. 1 by the CFP committee. Their final regular season game is against in-state rival South Carolina (3-8, 1-7).

Swinney's $50,000 bonus for clinching the ACC Atlantic Division last month is just the start of his potential extra earnings. A victory in the ACC title game against the University of North Carolina on December 5 will add another $100,000.

An appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals would earn Swinney $400,000, which doubles if the team qualifies for the title game. A victory in the national championship on January 11 in Glendale, Arizona, is worth another $100,000, according to his contract.

He can also earn $25,000 if he is named the ACC's Coach of the Year, and $50,000 for National Coach of the Year honors.

All told, Swinney, who earns $3.3 million in base salary, could earn $1.125 million in bonus money with a conference championship, national title, and ACC and National Coach of the Year honors.

Clemson last won the ACC title in 2011. Its lone national title came following the 1981 season when it beat Nebraska 22-15 in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day to finish a perfect 12-0 and earn the Associated Press' top ranking.

While some will argue that advancing to the CFP or winning a national championship are remarkable accomplishments deserving of the extra pay, others will say that bonuses should be used as motivation, a means of incentivizing or changing behavior. Either way, the money tells a story about a university's priorities. And at Iowa, for example, Ferentz's deal calls for as much as $2.275 million in football bonuses, but only provides for a $100,000 bonus if his players reach a graduation rate of over 70 percent.

Universities can't say they prize the academic success of their student athletes as well as their on-field performance, and then send a message like that.