Ross Bjork explains giving Mike Elko an incentive-based contract

On Monday, Texas A&M officially named Mike Elko its next head coach. The highly-desired position doesn’t come without a few catches. Elko will earn a $7 million base salary. However, Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork put a heavy emphasis on performance-based incentives in Elko’s contract:

• $1 million for making the College Football Playoff
• $1.5 million for advancing to the CFP Quarter Finals and/or winning the SEC
• $2 million for advancing to the CFP Semi Finals
• $2.5 million for advancing to the CFP national championship game
• $3.5 for winning the CFP national championship

Of course, $7 million isn’t exactly a drop in the bucket. Yet, in comparison, Elko’s salary will rank No. 9 among SEC head coaches. On Monday, Bjork discussed his decision to put so much financial weight in Elko’s incentives.

“With the CFP expanding to 12 teams and given where we are, given our resources, given the commitment to football — that if we have the right coach and the right plan that we should be in the hunt every year for those playoff spots,” Bjork said. “That’s how we looked at it. We know there’s got to be a base salary. But then the rest of it is based off making and earning your way through the CFP.”

Texas A&M has only finished in the Associated Press’ top 12 teams twice since 2010, most recently making the cut in 2020 under former head coach Jimbo Fisher. Nonetheless, Elko isn’t afraid of the challenge.

Mike Elko embraces the challenge ahead

“I just think when you look at what this program is capable of? What we’ve got to do is we’ve got to fulfill that potential,” Elko said.

“That happens with work. That was the message that I sent to the players, that was the message that I tried to deliver to the crowd,” Elko said. “We can’t just say we want to be something, we can’t just say we want to arrive somewhere. We’ve got to be committed to all the work that it’s going to take, from today until we kick off next September, of doing that.”

Elko knows how to build a program. In two seasons at Duke, the 46-year-old head coach turned a forgettable program into an ACC threat. The Blue Devils posted a 16-9 record under Elko and pulled off several notable upsets, including a 28-7 win over No. 9 Clemson in the 2023 season opener.

Elko aims to replicate his success in College Station. He knows he won’t be alone in his ambitions.

“There’s a lot that goes into that,” Elko said. “There’s culture building, there’s camaraderie. Connecting with the players, there’s the players connecting at a greater level with each other. There’s strength and conditioning, there’s development. There’s so much that goes into winning football games in the fall. Those are the things that we’ve got to start taking pride in.”