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Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh contract details revealed

Chris Balasby: Chris Balas02/17/22Balas_Wolverine
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh on the field during the Big Ten Championship game. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has signed his new contract, and it might not be what many expected.

Per the Detroit News‘ Angelique Chengelis, Harbaugh’s new base salary will be $7.05 million in the first year. That increases to $7.6 million by his last season (2026).

RELATED: Michigan officially announces Jim Harbaugh contract extension

These numbers are consistent with what has been reported, the base lower than Michigan State’s Mel Tucker, Penn State’s James Franklin and Ohio State’s Ryan Day in the Big Ten East. At the same time, the university is also contributing $1 million annually to a retirement fund. That’s similar to the first contract he signed in 2015.

Many were interested to see the buyout, and some expected a huge number to deter him from flirting with the NFL again. Harbaugh, of course, nearly became the Minnesota Vikings head coach this year. At least a few others teams showed interest after he led Michigan to a Big Ten title, including Las Vegas.

If Harbaugh leaves leaves after the 2022 season, he would owe Michigan $3 million. The buyout drops to $2.25 million in year two, $1.5 million in year three, $750,000 in year four. It goes to zero in the last year of the contract.

In addition, per Chengelis, there are several incentives added similar to last year’s deal. He’d make $1 million for a Big Ten title, $1 million for a national championship and $500,000 for a College Football Playoff bid.

Is Harbaugh a Michigan man for life?

Harbaugh told Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom he hoped to finish his career at Michigan.

“There was a tugging at me that I was once that close to a Super Bowl and I didn’t get it. Some NFL jobs came open. I was contacted by the (Minnesota) Vikings,” he said. “For better or for worse, it was something I wanted to explore. I went in thinking, ‘I’m going have 100 percent conviction on this, and if they (Minnesota) have 100 percent conviction on this, then it’s something I’m going to do.’

“I called Warde and I asked him if he wanted me to be the head coach. And he said, ‘Yes, 100 percent.’ And I said, ‘okay then. That’s what I want to do.’ And I told him, ‘Warde, this will not be a reoccurring theme every year. This was a one-time thing.”

Michigan opens the 2022 season with Colorado State Sept. 3.

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