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Virginia football coach Tony Elliott contract details released

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels•12/20/21•

ChandlerVessels

The contract details have been released for newly hired Virginia football coach Tony Elliott, per USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz. The deal is good for six seasons and Elliott will start with a salary of $4.1 million for 2022.

The coach is set to receive scheduled raises in 2023 ($4.25 million), 2025 ($4.5M) and 2027 ($4.55M). He received a $350,000 signing bonus.

Buyout for both parties is $8 million.

Comparing the contract details of Tony Elliott to that of former Cavaliers coach Bronco Mendenhall, it’s clear who received a better start. Mendenhall’s starting annual pay way $3.25 million, and his $25,000 signing bonus is dwarfed by Elliott’s.

The former Clemson offensive coordinator, Elliott is set to embark on his first season as a college head coach. He joins Dan Lanning (Georgia to Oregon), Brent Venables (Clemson to Oklahoma) and Brent Pry (Penn State to Virginia Tech) as coordinators to make the jump.

Both Venables and Lanning will make more annually than Elliott. He will make slightly more than Pry to start out, though the Hokies coach has bigger pay raises.

Elliott spent the past 10 seasons with the Tigers since 2011. He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2015 before taking over the role full-time in 2020. Clemson won national championships in 2016 and 2018 with him on staff. He was a receiver on the team from 2000-03.

Prior to joining the Tigers, he was a receivers coach for South Carolina State and Furman. He has never coached outside of the state of South Carolina.

The Cavaliers finished the season 6-6 under Mendenhall, who announced his decision to step away earlier this month. Mendenhall is still set to coach the Cavaliers in the Fenway Bowl against SMU. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. ET on Dec. 29.

Clemson, on the other hand finished its season 9-3 and earned a bif to the Cheez-It Bowl against Iowa State. Kickoff for that game is set for 5:45 p.m. ET on Dec. 29. Quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter was promoted to offensive coordinator following Elliott’s departure.