Full terms released for Curt Cignetti contract extension at Indiana

The full terms of Curt Cignetti‘s new eight-year, $93.25 million contract extension with Indiana were released on Tuesday. That includes interesting language that could allow Cignetti to leave the Hoosiers without owing anything, according a screenshot released by NBC’s Nicole Auerbach.

According to terms released Tuesday, Cignetti — or more likely whatever team hires him — would owe Indiana a $15 million buyout if he leaves for another program before Nov. 30, 2026. That number drops by $3 million over the subsequent three calendar years until going from $6 million to $4 million if he leaves between 2029 and 2030. That buyout figure gets cut in half over the next two years before going to zero if he leaves the Hoosiers in 2033, the final year of the deal.

There’s also unique language in the deal requiring Indiana to perform a “good faith market review” of Cignetti’s contract within 120 days of the conclusion of the season to make sure his annual financial compensation would rank “no less than third” among active FBS head coaches. With the new extension, Cignetti’s annual salary jumps to $11.6 million, ranking him as the third-highest paid college football coach in the nation behind Georgia‘s Kirby Smart ($13.3m) and Ohio State‘s Ryan Day ($12.6m) — both of whom have won at least one national championship.

If the university fails to reach an agreement on such a “market adjustment,” the program agrees to release Cignetti of any remaining buyout requirement should he take another head coaching job. Of course, the “good faith market review” would only be triggered if Cignetti leads Indiana to the College Football Playoff national semifinal the season prior.

Cignetti’s new deal also includes language that requires Indiana to “make every reasonable effort to provide a competitive” salary pool to retain or acquire assistant coaches and vital support staff roles should the Hoosiers’ current salary pool rank below fifth in the Big Ten or 10th nationally.

Suffice it to say, Indiana bent over backwards to keep Cignetti in Bloomington ahead of what is setting up to be a wild coaching carousel this upcoming offseason. Prior to reaching this new agreement Thursday, Cignetti was a leading candidate for the newly-created Penn State head coach opening.

According to Yahoo! Sports insider Ross Dellenger, Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson first approached the Hoosiers head coach about the new contract early last week. Three days later, and the deal was done. Dellenger noted that extensions like this can take weeks or even months to be worked out, further highlighting the sense of urgency those in charge had following the firing of former Penn State head coach James Franklin on Oct. 12.

“We are committed to investing in IU Football in such a way that we can compete at a championship level, and the No. 1 priority in doing that is ensuring that Coach Cignetti is the leader of our program,” Dolson said in a release. “His accomplishments during the last season and a half have been nothing short of remarkable.  As much as anyone, he believed in what was possible with our program, and he’s turned that belief into reality. This is a great day for IU Football and Indiana University. I look forward to working alongside Coach Cignetti for many years to come.”

Through one and a half seasons in Bloomington, Cignetti has compiled an 18-2 overall record that includes a perfect 7-0 record to start this season. Indiana finished last season with an 11-2 record to go along with the program’s first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff.