Tennessee makes Tony Vitello the highest-paid coach in college baseball with new five-year deal

Tennessee baseball head coach Tony Vitello is getting paid. Vitello and the University of Tennessee have reached a new agreement that makes him the highest paid coach in college baseball. Vitello’s new agreement is for $3 million annually on a five-year deal that runs through June 30, 2029.

Vitello is receiving a $250,000 signing bonus for the new contract and is also receiving a $200,000 retro bonus for winning the 2024 national championship, which replaces the $140,000 bonus he was due based on his previous contract.

If Vitello were relived of his duties without cause, the university would owe him the full amount of the remaining contract. If Vitello were to leave, the separation payout breaks down like this:

$4 million – if before June 30, 2025
$3 million – if before June 30, 2026
$2 million – if before June 30, 2027
$800K – if before June 30, 2028
$400K – if before June 30, 2029

In addition, if Vitello were to leave prior to the conclusion of his contract for another job, the separation pay is cut in half if Danny White is no longer the Athletics Director at Tennessee.

The Vols won the program’s first-ever national championship in June, outlasting Texas A&M 6-5 in Game 3 of the College World Series Finals from Omaha, Neb. It was the third trek to the Greatest Show on Dirt in four seasons for Vitello and the seventh appearance overall for the program.

Vitello has since earned three National Coach of the Year honors from D1 Baseball, Baseball America and the ABCA.

It was the 24^th team national championship (all sports) in Tennessee history and the first since 2009 (women’s track & field). Tennessee became the first program in Southeastern Conference history to win 60 games and the fourth team in league history to sweep the regular season title, conference tournament title and College World Series title in the same season.  

Tennessee became the first No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament to win the College World Series since Miami accomplished the feat in 1999. The Vols were also just the fourth No. 1 overall seed to reach the Finals series. The Vols’ 60 wins were the most of any program since Florida State in 2022 and the most of any national champion since Wichita State back in 1989.

Vitello has rewritten the Tennessee program record books, leading the country the last four seasons in wins (211), win percentage (.773), NCAA Tournament wins (25) and home runs (566). Following a national championship victory, Vitello was named the national Coach of the Year by the America Baseball Coaches Association.

“Tennessee came calling, and I knew a little bit about it. I knew it had those ingredients,” Vitello said after winning the national title last week. “But I’ve been blown away by how friendly everybody is, how involved everybody is. And loyalty is a very important word to everybody, but especially to an Italian fella, and I don’t know that there’s a more loyal fan base and really just community when you’re in that state.”

Vitello’s current deal, which paid him 1.5 million annually, was set to expire in June of 2026.

Tennessee AD Danny White began working on a new deal for Vitello early in the season and a deal was essentially completed before the start of post-season play. However, Vitello wanted no distractions for his program as they made their national title run. Once the Vols won the title and Texas A&M made overtures, the numbers in Vitello’s new deal grew as the agreement was reworked following the College World Series win over the Aggies, giving the Vols their first ever national title in baseball.

Under Vitello, Tennessee has had a huge surge in popularity thanks to winning and his personality along the way. The skipper is now being rewarded for it.

According to reports compiled from Front Office Sports, The Tennessean, USA Today and the NCAA over the past two months, Vitello at current standing is the top-earner in the country. A reminder, however, that information regarding baseball coaching salaries is hard to come by when compared to football and basketball. All 2024 salaries below stem from reports.  

Vanderbilt’s Tim Corbin makes a reported $2.45 million while LSU’s Jay Johnson comes in at $1.79 million. North Carolina’s Scott Forbes earns $1.7 million with Ole Miss skipper Mike Bianco making a reported $1.62 million. Former Texas A&M coach – and new Texas skipper – Jim Schlossnagle’s new deal with the Longhorns will pay him $2.68 million annually once his Texas A&M buyout is paid.

Here’s a breakdown of Vitello’s bonus structure, per the new contact agreement.

Tennessee will begin next season in mid-February, highlighted by an early season challenge at Minute Maid Park for the Astros Foundation College Classic from February 28-March 2 in Houston, TX.