Report: Congressional lawmaker investigating high-profile college football coaching contracts

The contracts of high-profile college football head coaches have done nothing but evolve over the years. While big-name schools have always been able to pay their head coaches more than smaller schools, they have the ability and resources to pay even more now.

Over the past year in college football, multiple head coaches at Power Five programs have landed top-tier contracts that are highlighted by mind-boggling salary numbers. Because of that, a lawmaker in New Jersey is reportedly investigating some of the contracts to determine if the coaches’ compensations run afoul of laws for tax-exempt organizations.

Rep. Bill Pascrell has sent letters to Michigan State and Miami inquiring about the two schools’ contracts for head football coaches Mel Tucker and Mario Cristobal, who both recently signed high-profile deals to lead the respective programs. While Michigan State gave Tucker a $95 million package, Miami offered Cristobal an $89 million deal.

“Americans are rightly astonished by the litany of mammoth contracts awarded to college sports coaches by taxpayer-supported schools,” Pascrell said in a statement Tuesday, as reported in Crain’s Detroit Business.

While Pascrell’s primary concern is that the highly-compensated contracts run afoul of the schools’ tax-exempt status and may not benefit their educational mission and students, he also feels that there’s “a stark contrast” between the coaching salaries and the benefits student-athletes receive.

While Pascrell is targeting Michigan State and Miami, he also inquired about LSU’s contract for head football coach Brian Kelly and USC’s contract for head football coach Lincoln Riley, who both recently agreed to lucrative deals.

According to Crain’s Detroit Business, Pascrell asked Michigan State and Miami to respond to his questions by Feb. 14.

Brian Kelly’s salary, bonuses in 10-year LSU contract revealed

The details of Brian Kelly’s contract at LSU were made public, and he’ll be making roughly $10 million per year over the ten-year agreement. The deal starts at $9.5 million for the 2022 season, increases to $9.7 million starting in 2023, then $9.9 million in 2025, $10.1 million in 2027, $10.3 million in 2029 and $10.5 million in 2031.

Kelly’s term sheet at LSU also includes a $500,000 longevity payment, an annual bonus that will be paid out every July on the job.

Should he choose to leave, though, Kelly will have to pay out LSU quite a bit. The contract, if terminated by Kelly before Dec. 31, 2022, would yield a $4 million payment from Kelly to LSU. That figure drops to $3 million in 2023, then $2 million in 2024, after which it remains at $2 million until its expiration in 2031.