Michigan football: Jim Harbaugh contract incentive tracker

On3 imageby:Anthony Broome12/08/22

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Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has no plans to coach anywhere but in Ann Arbor for the foreseeable future, especially after a 25-2 record over the last 2 years, a pair of Big Ten Championships and another trip to the College Football Playoff looming.

After a dalliance with the NFL last offseason, Harbaugh signed a 5-year, $36.7 million contract that links him to Michigan through the 2026 season. That does not – and will not – stop NFL rumors from materializing, as they have every season since he arrived in 2015.

Harbaugh recently shot down the rumors of courtship from the professional ranks.

“That time of the year type of speculation, but I think no man knows the future,” Harbaugh said on Sunday night. “But I think that people that think we’ve done a good job and are pleased with the job that we’ve done here at Michigan, they’re going to be very happy to learn that we will be back enthusiastically coaching the Wolverines in 2023. And for those people that don’t approve of the job we’ve done or would rather see somebody else coaching here, I think they’ll be most likely disappointed to learn we’ll be back coaching the Wolverines and in 2023.”

Harbaugh is paid a base salary of $7.05 million this season, but has additional incentives in his contract hit for milestone marks. He has already added more money in his pocket given Michigan’s division and conference tiltes this year and stands to make even more now that the Wolverines are in the playoff.

Contract figures via CBS Sports story

Michigan wins the Big Ten East

Bonus payout: $500,000

Harbaugh will gather an extra $500,000 this year for leading Michigan to a 12-0 regular season that culminated in a 45-23 win over rival Ohio State on Nov. 26. It is the Wolverines’ 2nd-straight victory over their hated rivals and has swung momentum completely in the rivalry. Michigan and Ohio State could potentially meet for a national championship if both teams take care of business in their respective College Football Playoff semifinals.

Big Ten Coach of the Year

Bonus payout: $50,000

Harbaugh was named the Big Ten’s Coach of the Year, which pays out another $50,000. He has a clause in his contract for $75,000 if he were to win National Coach of the Year, but that honor went to TCU’s Sonny Dykes.

Michigan wins the Big Ten Championship

Bonus payout: $1,000,000

Michigan’s 43-22 win over Purdue helped capture the team’s 2nd-straight Big Ten Championship under Harbaugh, paying him out another $1,000,000. After not reaching the Big Ten title game in the first 6 years of the Harbaugh era, the Wolverines found a way to add another trophy to Schembechler Hall. The ultimate referendum of a successful season at Michigan is winning the Big Ten. Mission accomplished for the second year in a row.

Making the College Football Playoff

Bonus payout: $500,000

Harbaugh and Michigan’s 2nd-straight trip to the College Football Playoff adds another $500,000 to his salary for this season, bringing the total up to $9.1 million. That puts him compensation into the top 10 among all coaches in the country at No. 8, just behind Ryan Day of Ohio State and Mel Tucker at Michigan State ($9.5 million).

Winning a national championship

Bonus payout: $1,000,000

Should Michigan survive TCU and Georgia/Ohio State, it will not only win its first national title in 25 years, but also net its head coach another $1,000,000 in compensation, bringing is potential base salary + incentives to $10.1 million for 2022. That would put him in the top 5 behind Alabama’s Nick Saban ($11.7 million), Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($11.25 million), Clemson’s Dabo Swinney ($10.5 million) and USC’s Lincoln Riley (estimated $10-plus million).

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