Clemson, Dabo Swinney agree to 10-year, $115 million deal
Dabo Swinney is getting himself a new contract. The Clemson head coach has agreed to an extension, the university announced on Thursday. The contract is a 10-year deal worth $115 million, according to On3’s Matt Connolly.
Swinney previously signed a 10-year, $93 million contract in 2019, before the compensation committee of the Board of Trustees agreed to the new deal on Thursday morning. The new terms keep him with the program through 2031 with an average annual salary of $11.5 million.
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Swinney is in his 15th season as Clemson head coach after taking over for Tommy Bowden following his resignation. During his time at the helm, he’s taken the Tigers to four national championship games, winning two of them. Last season, he won his 150th game in his 14th season as a head coach, making him the third FBS coach to reach that total in his first 15 seasons. Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops were the others.
Clemson is also in the midst of an impressive stretch of 10-plus-win seasons under Swinney. He and the Tigers have 11 straight double-digit win seasons, including a 10-3 season a year ago. He’s also taken the Tigers to a bowl game every year he’s been in charge of the program.
According to AL.com‘s numbers, Dabo Swinney is now the second highest-paid head coach, moving past a slew of coaches who received new deals this offseason. The list does not include USC head coach Lincoln Riley whose new contract is not public information.
- Nick Saban $11.7 million a year
- Dabo Swinney $11.5 million
- Kirby Smart: $11.25 million
- Brian Kelly: $9.5 million
- Mel Tucker $9.5 million
- Ryan Day $9.5 million
- Jimbo Fisher $9.5 million
Clemson Tigers lock up Swinney through 2031
Dabo Swinney’s new deal includes $50,000 more in bonuses for winning the ACC title. It also stipulates $50,000 more for reaching the CFP semifinal and the title game. He will also get a $150,000 bonus for every CFP appearance post-expansion.
Clemson started the 2022 season ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25 and defeated Georgia Tech 41-10 in the season opener Sept. 5. The Tigers looked a little shaky to start, but righted the ship en route to the win. However, it wasn’t enough to hold onto the top-four spot in the latest poll as Clemson came in at No. 5 in the Week 2 AP Top 25, which dropped Tuesday.
The future is also looking bright for Swinney’s and Co., who are also seeing success on the recruiting trail. Clemson currently holds the No. 8 recruiting class in the nation for the class of 2023, according to the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking, led by two five-star recruits.
Quarterback Christopher Vizzina is the highest-ranked prospect of the group, coming in as the No. 26-ranked recruit in the nation and the No. 6 quarterback, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
The Tigers are now gearing up for Week 3 action when they take on Furman at Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.