Jim Harbaugh to donate bonus money from 2021 season to Michigan athletic department employees who took pay cuts
Before the 2020 season, Michigan Wolverines head football coach Jim Harbaugh took a $554,584 pay cut due to the U-M athletic department’s projected $26 million deficit that stemmed from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. After a campaign riddled with opt-outs and injuries that saw the Maize and Blue post a 2-4 record, Harbaugh signed a contract extension that included a $4.05 million reduction to his base salary. The contract was incentive-laden, with bonuses for winning the Big Ten East division, topping the Big Ten Conference, reaching a New Year’s Six bowl game, making the College Football Playoff and winning the national championship, among other accomplishments.
Now, Harbaugh will donate any bonus money he makes for the 2021 campaign to the athletic department so it can be distributed to employees who took voluntary or mandatory pay cuts due to the pandemic, he announced Monday evening on the Inside Michigan Football radio show with host Jon Jansen.
“So important,” Harbaugh told Jansen when asked what the Michigan athletics community means to him. “Whether it’s folks who work here in football or at the ticket department or baseball coaches, [swimming and diving coach] Mike Bottom, there are so many that my wife has gotten very close to, kids have and really just our family way, our family contribution to those that have had some financial strain through the last 18 months.”
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Harbaugh is already set to collect $500,000 after Michigan won the Big Ten East, and he has a chance to earn even more money as the postseason progresses. Here is a look at his entire package of incentives.
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• Big Ten Coach of the Year: $50,000
• National Coach of the Year: $75,000
• APR: $150k
• Big Ten championship game berth: $500,000
• Big Ten champs: $1 million
• NY6 Bowl: $200,000
• College Football Playoff Semifinal: $500,000
• College Football Playoff title: $1 million
Harbaugh’s contract with Michigan runs through the 2025 season. According to USA Today, Harbaugh’s $4.03 million base salary was the third-lowest among Big Ten head coaches as of October. Based on how the market is moving, it’s fair to expect he will receive a raise either at the end of this season or shortly thereafter.
The second-ranked Wolverines play Iowa for the Big Ten title Saturday night in Indianapolis (8 p.m. ET on FOX). If they win, they’d earn a berth to the College Football Playoff semifinals and keep their national title hopes alive.
