When Dabo Swinney became Clemson's head coach late in 2008, his salary was 800 grand a year.
Now, if he brings Clemson a national title he banks 100 grand more than that just in bonuses.
Heather Dinich of ESPN unearthed this and other interesting bonus details in the contracts of major college football coaches.
At Clemson, winning a national championship in the College Football Playoff is valued at $900,000 -- that's the bonus coach Dabo Swinney is guaranteed if the Tigers win it all. It's more than any incentive promised to the four coaches who actually made the semifinal round of the inaugural playoff, including Nick Saban.
It's even more than Michigan's Money Man, Jim Harbaugh, whose total bonus is $800,000 for winning a title in Ann Arbor.
It's on par, though, with Colorado, where a national title is worth $750,000 to coach Mike MacIntyre.
Meanwhile, Cal coach Sonny Dykes is still waiting for his contract to be updated to include the playoff, but he would have gotten $50,000 for taking the Golden Bears to the BCS national championship.
The disparity in incentives for winning college football's biggest prize? Priceless.
"We pay close attention to the marketplace, which is much easier to do on guaranteed compensation than it is on incentive compensation," said Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens, "because incentive compensation can be all over the board."
He's right -- it is.
ESPN.com obtained the contracts of 34 FBS coaches representing each Power 5 conference, and there's a wide range of incentive money for winning the national title. The bigger lump sums are because the bonuses are cumulative. Harbaugh, for example, gets $300,000 for making the semifinals and another $500,000 for winning the championship. Swinney gets $400,000 for a CFP semifinal appearance AND $400,000 for a CFP championship appearance, AND another $100,000 for winning the title.
Dan Radakovich weighs in:
"It was really important to myself and the agent that if Dabo has a phenomenal year that he has the ability to be compensated at a really, really good level," said Radakovich. "It also means that in the reality of things, should that circumstance occur, there would need to be a renegotiation in the remainder of the contract, depending upon when in the length of the contract that occurs.
"The playoff has helped create the market," Radakovich said. "The playoff has increased the revenue opportunities for athletic programs and therefore because those revenues are coming in, if you have a successful coach, you have more resources by which to compensate them and make sure they stay at your institution."
A few Wednesday links:
-- If you're in the ACC or SEC, probably not a good idea to schedule Coastal Carolina in baseball. The Chants are 5-0 against those two conferences after last night.
CONWAY - It's just been that kind of season for the Coastal Carolina baseball team.
The Chanticleers surrendered a four-run lead and later found themselves trailing No. 12-ranked South Carolina by two runs late in the game Tuesday night, but that only made for a better ending for the hosts.
After rallying to tie it up in the eighth, the Chants finished the job in the bottom of the 11th inning when junior Connor Owings roped a walk-off RBI single to center to clinch a momentous 9-8 win over the Gamecocks.
Springs Brooks Stadium was packed to the brim with a capacity and program record on-campus crowd of 3,086 as the Gamecocks made their first visit to Conway since 1993. And while there were plenty of South Carolina fans in the ballpark, Coastal Carolina played to its supporters with its biggest win of the season and its ninth straight victory overall.
"I know these guys can vouch for it, we wouldn't rather be any other place in the country," Owings said of knocking off the state's premier college baseball power. "We love it here and beating teams like that, beating teams we know we can play with, it's an unbelievable feeling."
-- David Teel of the Newport News newspaper says the ACC's strong representation in the Round of 16 is great and all, but the conference needs to end its Final Four drought.
The ACC's six tournament representatives went 11-1 last weekend, positioning the league to match or exceed its high of 14 NCAA victories, set in 1990 and equaled in '93 and 2004. The Big East's all-time record of 18, set in 1985 when St. John's, Georgetown and eventual champ Villanova famously made the Final Four, seems untouchable.
Granted, the ACC's growth from nine schools in 2004 to 15 last season plays a role in the inflated numbers. After all, who ever dreamed of Louisville, Syracuse and Notre Dame in the ACC?
But 11-1 from six teams is sterling regardless. Heck, in 2007 the league's seven tournament reps went 7-7.Two years later, seven teams went 9-6, with national champ North Carolina accounting for six of the victories.
The ACC's chore now is to end its five-season Final Four, the longest since the conference debuted in 1953-54.
-- Athlon takes a look at college football's top 20 receivers on the rise for 2015 and lists Artavis Scott.
As a true freshman last season, Scott led the team with 76 catches (including eight for scores) and recorded 965 receiving yards in 13 games. Scott capped the season on a high note by torching rival South Carolina for 185 yards and two scores, while also posting eight catches for 114 yards against Oklahoma. Scott should easily eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in 2015, especially if rising star quarterback Deshaun Watson stays healthy.
-- If you like reading about the media's relationship with the athletes they cover, you'll enjoy this lengthy story from Grantland on what the Oklahoma City media did to tick off Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
-- In Oxford, Hugh Freeze says he's pleased with Chad Kelly.
"He studies film," Freeze said. "He's a competitor. He's a team guy. That's been my experience thus far."
Freeze said the Rebels' playbook is "moving a little fast" for Kelly.
"He has an understanding of the game," Freeze said. "He really has a good understanding. He's been taught the game, but if we're in tempo and it's something new, he might struggle with, 'Did I call that exactly right?' That makes him uncertain and he plays a little slow."
-- And in Athens, an update on the Bulldogs' quarterback race.
So much for all that work Brice Ramsey got last year backing up starter Hutson Mason.
There's a new offense, a new offensive coordinator and a quarterback competition playing out at Georgia.
"I have playing experience, but it means nothing now," Ramsey said after practice Tuesday, the Bulldogs' fourth this spring. "I'm back to square one. Just trying to work hard and do everything I can."
The redshirt sophomore worked with the starting unit on Tuesday, but don't read too much into that.
The quarterbacks are rotating each practice. Ramsey will be with the No. 3 unit when the Bulldogs practice next on Thursday as he switches each practice with the other candidates: redshirt junior Faton Bauta and redshirt freshman Jacob Park.
"It's a good battle," said Ramsey, 24 of 39 for 333 yards last season with three touchdowns and two interceptions. "Everyone's trying to do what they can to get ahead and be that lead guy."
LW
This post was edited on 3/25 9:22 AM by Larry_Williams
This post was edited on 3/25 9:23 AM by Larry_Williams
