Jim Harbaugh on contract concessions: 'It's just money'

Prior to this season, Michigan restructured coach Jim Harbaugh’s contract. As part of the deal, he made some concessions and took a pay cut.

But there were bonuses in the deal, including for winning the Big Ten East and making the College Football Playoff. As those bonuses come in, Harbaugh said he plans to give them to athletic department employees affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A reporter asked Harbaugh if he’s heard from any of those staffers. He said he has — and a quote from a Michigan legend inspired him.

“Yeah, I have,” Harbaugh said. “Actually people have been very appreciative. I was really happy to be blessed to be in a position to be able to do that. It really resonated with me. … Bo Schembechler has a saying here at Michigan. It says, ‘those who stay will be champions,” and it’s always resonated with me from day one.

“Those that stayed through the pandemic when there was voluntary pay cuts, mandatory pay cuts, that kind of thing, just to be able to reward those that stayed in that way was something that Sarah, my wife, and I wanted to do.”

What makes the decision even more special is it came after Harbaugh took quite a pay cut. Despite that, he still wanted to give out his bonus money.

His reaction to the new salary speaks to who he is as a person.

“It didn’t really mean anything to me,” Harbaugh said. “It’s just money. Big deal.”

Jim Harbaugh reveals preseason motivation he gave to Michigan

With his team getting ready to compete in the College Football Playoff, Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh thinks back to the preseason. The Wolverines started the year at No. 16 in the AP poll, and certainly nobody expected them to be where they are.

Harbaugh said he tried to offer some motivating words to his team prior to the start of the year.

“I can take you back to our first team meeting in August,” Harbaugh told ESPN. “One of the things I said to these guys was: ‘Hey, guys, let’s face it. The buzz has died down a little bit around here. So let’s make some new buzz.’ They could not have made more buzz around here for everybody.”

Michigan was coming off its worst season since 1962 after finishing 2-4. The Wolverines, like most teams, had their year cut short because of the pandemic. They did not play in their final two games, including against their biggest rival, Ohio State.