With Curt Cignetti's new contract, Indiana is all in on football

Both Indiana University and Curt Cignetti are fully committed to fielding an elite football program, and they proved it with Cignetti’s eight-year, $93 million extension signed last Thursday.

Since then, the Hoosiers defeated Michigan State 38-13 to move to 7-0 on the season, while Indiana rose to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 for the first time in program history. While IU is having another historic season this year, the contract signing proves that Cignetti doesn’t want to be a two-year wonder — he and Indiana are focused on the years to come.

Last November, Cignetti said, “We’re the emerging superpower in college football. Why would I leave?” and he doubled down on that when he signed an extension that keeps him under contract through the 2033 season.

He wasn’t the instigator of the new contract, though — it was Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson.

“He just walked in my office. Normally he comes in every Thursday and we chat about the game. He popped in right before the player meetings on either Tuesday or Wednesday,” Cignetti told reporters Monday. “He popped in for about a minute and a half, said, ‘This is kind of what we’d like to do. OK if we call your representative?’”

Once Dolson got in touch with Cignetti’s representatives, it didn’t take long for the contract to be finalized.

“I said, ‘Sure, it would be great.’ Within 48 hours, 36 hours, it was done,” Cignetti added.

Employment contracts, especially those worth tens of millions of dollars, usually take days, weeks or months to negotiate — but not this one. It’s evident that Cignetti and IU were on the same page, which drives home the point that both parties are aligned in making Hoosier football the best it can be.

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For Cignetti, it was a no-brainer. In a video posted right after his extension was announced, he spoke directly to Hoosier Nation, letting fans know that he has no plans to coach anywhere else.

“I couldn’t be more proud to be a Hoosier. I plan on retiring a Hoosier,” Cignetti said.

Cignetti isn’t going anywhere, and this contract proves his commitment to Indiana football. He’s passionate about the program he’s built from the ground up, and he’s stood up for the once-lowly Indiana program.

By signing an eight-year extension, Cignetti is under contract until he’s 72 years old. We don’t yet know how long he plans to coach, but based on his comments, it seems likely that Cignetti will finish his coaching career at Indiana, despite rumors tying him to the Penn State job.

While the commitment from Cignetti was crucial, the financial support from the university and athletic department might be even more telling. Indiana is a football school now — at least as far as financials are concerned.

Cignetti’s contract averages $11.6 million per year, but in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) released by IU on Tuesday, we can see the exact dollar amount that Indiana is investing in Cignetti and the football program.

His salary obviously increases with the new contract, but there are several other clauses that demonstrate Indiana’s commitment to having a well-funded coaching staff, as well as player resources.

In a section of the MOU that includes “good faith” agreements, Indiana pledges to keep Cignetti among the top three highest-paid coaches should the Hoosiers advance to the College Football Playoff semifinal or national championship game.

“Beginning with the 2025 collegiate football season, the parties agree to complete a good faith review and negotiation of Coach’s compensation within 120 days after the team appears in the CFP (or surviving system) semifinal game,” the contract states.

In addition to Cignetti’s salary, the contract stipulates that IU, regardless of CFP success or not, agrees to keep the football assistant coaches’ salary pool in the top five of the Big Ten and the top 10 nationally.

“The university agrees to perform a good faith market review any time the staff pool ranks lower than fifth in the Big Ten Conference or 10th nationally (based on agreed-upon market data).”

The contract also says, “The vice president and athletic director agree to meet with you at least annually to review any available data to ensure that the football program remains competitive both nationally and in the Big Ten in this area of program support,” committing to staying competitive regarding NIL payments and other program facilities.

With these commitments spelled out in an enforceable contract, Indiana is all in on football. For as long as Cignetti is head coach, the Hoosiers will be among the top spenders in the country, which is incredibly important in this era of college football.

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There’s a lot more in the MOU, but long story short, Indiana is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep up with the top programs in terms of spending. While there was no language in the contract about stadium renovations, those are expected as well.

With an 18-2 start as Indiana’s head coach, Cignetti could’ve gone anywhere he wanted. If he wanted to be the next head coach at Penn State, Florida or Arkansas, he could’ve been. If Indiana wasn’t fully committed to funding football like one of those schools, he may have left Bloomington — but IU stepped up.

Under the leadership of Dolson, Indiana has committed itself to becoming what Cignetti said almost a year ago: “The emerging superpower in college football.”

Although the Hoosiers aren’t emerging anymore. With this new contract for its head coach, IU is here to stay. This has been a monumental week for Indiana football, but because of Cignetti’s extension, Hoosier fans have eight more years of everything that comes with a well-funded college football program.

Here's a look into Curt Cignetti's compensation, per the MOU of his new contract extension.

Base salary is listed on the right, with incentive bonuses for advancing through the CFP on the left.

With salary + bonuses, Cignetti will be the third-highest paid coach in CFB. #iufb pic.twitter.com/IZWqQdnhAp

— Colin McMahon (@ColinMcMahon31) October 21, 2025

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