Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck receives one-year extension
Minnesota Golden Gophers head football coach P.J. Fleck, pending approval, has received a one-year extension that will keep him as the head coach of the maroon and gold through 2030.
The extension adds one year to Fleck’s original seven-year extension that he signed in December of 2022. The details of the extension can be found in the Minnesota Board of Regents Finance & Operations Committee Consent Report for their upcoming July 11 meeting.
The amendment also comes with updated retention bonuses for Fleck as well as buyout terms if he were to leave Minnesota for another coaching opportunity.
RETENTION TERMS
Each year, Fleck will receive a retention bonus with half vesting on September 1 and half vesting on December 31.
- 2025: $1,000,000
- 2026: $1,200,000
- 2027: $1,300,000
- 2028: $1,400,000
- 2029: $1,500,000
- 2030: $1,600,000
BUYOUT TERMS
The buyout terms for Fleck are the following;
- 2025: $5,500,000
- 2026: $4,500,000
- 2027: $3,000,000
- 2028: $2,000,000
- 2029: $1,000,000
- 2030 $0
Additionally, if Fleck were to be terminated by the university, he would be compensated with a termination fee that is equal to 70% of his base salary, supplemental compensation, and retention bonus.
Fleck received a seven-year extension in 2022
The extension from Minnesota does not come as a surprise, and one-year extensions are rather commonplace in college football. Universities often provide one or two-year extensions to allow for additional changes to the contract, such as retention bonuses, buyouts, and more.
This one-year extension for Fleck does follow a seven-year deal that he signed in 2022, worth $42 million.
“This is all about cultural sustainability,” Fleck said at the time in a press release. “We have talked about that from day one, and this new contract is a commitment to continuing to change our best academically, athletically, socially, and spiritually. It is also a commitment to our elite staff and our tremendous fans.
According to the docket, with this extension, Fleck’s salary, including his retention bonuses, ties him for 11th among the Big Ten Conference’s 18 head football coaches.
Fleck is entering year 9 with the Gophers
This upcoming 2025 season will be P.J. Fleck’s ninth season leading the Golden Gophers. Through eight seasons, Fleck has amassed a 58-39 record with the program.
In the process, he has led the Gophers to six bowl games, including each of the last four seasons. The Golden Gophers have also won eight or more games in four of their eight seasons with the program.
His 58 wins with the program rank fifth all-time in program history, only behind Henry Williams (136), Bernie Bierman (93), Murray Warmath (87), and Glen Mason (64).
Of head coaches to coach five or more years with the program, his .598 winning percentage ranks fourth all-time behind Henry Williams (.786), Clarence Spears (.738), and Bernie Bierman (.716). Notably, Fleck is the Gophers’ best head coach in that category since 1950.
