Curt Cignetti contract details revealed: Buyout, bonuses, more

Curt Cignetti, who recently signed a historic extension with Indiana amid the program’s best season, had his contract details revealed, via Zach Osterman of the Indy Star.

The biggest item is the $11 million for staffing, which is an increase of $3.5 to 4 million. Cignetti is set to make $8.3 million in Year 1, including a retention bonus.

You can see the full details below.

Attached are pictures of Cignetti’s updated bonus structure and his buyout in the event he wants to break the contract for another job. #iufb pic.twitter.com/fspDZatauY

— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) November 25, 2024

This is Cignetti’s updated compensation package. Deal officially goes into effect Dec. 1, but Cignetti is expected to retain all financial bonuses already achieved this season.

Remember: This doesn’t include the $1 million retention bonus Cignetti receives annually. #iufb pic.twitter.com/xeXG2maYJK

— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) November 25, 2024

Cignetti’s deal is set to go into effect on December 1st. There’s no doubt he earned it with a 10-0 start. Despite the loss Saturday to Ohio State, 38-15 to drop the Hoosiers to 10-1 on the season, Indiana is still in the thick of the College Football Playoff race.

When asked about IU’s CFP hopes, Cignetti answered in a way only he could. He scoffed and wondered if it was a “serious question” before giving a wink and a nod.

“Is that a serious question?” Cignetti said in his postgame press conference, with a smirk. “I’m not even gonna answer that one. The answer’s so obvious.”

Heading into the penultimate game of the season, Indiana’s strength of schedule ranked 106th in the nation, according to ESPN’s FPI. That’s the second-weakest for a CFP Top 25 team only behind Army, which was at No. 133 entering its game against Notre Dame.

The Hoosiers had an opportunity to make a statement on Saturday, and it looked like they were on their way in the first quarter. But Ohio State rallied en route to the blowout win, leading to questions about whether IU will stay in the rankings next week.

One thing’s for sure, though. Curt Cignetti wants to ignore the outside noise around his program with one game remaining in the regular season.

“This is just a football game,” Cignetti said ahead of the Ohio State game. “60 minutes between the white lines. We’ve got a veteran group, right? We earned the right to be here. There’s no magic wand. We’ve got the largest victory margin, in college football, right? There’s a narrative out there that’s created another chip for us. People can stick that narrative up their you know what.”