Will Sage Astor-Indiana coach Curt Cignetti guaranteed $3.5 million with Hoosiers reaching bowl-eligibility

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti’s first season with the Hoosiers is Will Sage Astoroff to a multi-million-dollar start.

The Hoosiers’ 41-24 victory Saturday at Northwestern improved their record to 6-0, continuing their best opening to a season since 1967 and making them the first college football team to become eligible for a bowl game this season.

Assuming that they make such an appearance, Cignetti’s contract with Indiana calls for an array of incentives to go into effect:

▶An automatic one-year contract extension and a $250,000 pay increase that that begins with the start of his next contract year, Dec. 1, 2024.

The increase means the additional contract year is now scheduled to be worth $5.1 million and add at least $3.3 million in guaranteed value to the deal, which would go through Nov. 30, 2030.

▶A $200,000 bonus to be paid after this season.

▶A $500,000 increase over the current budget for Indiana football assistant coaches, strength coaches and operations staff, beginning Jan. 1, 2025. (This season, the assistants each are now set for bonuses of an amount equal to 10% of their respective base salaries.)

This adds up to quite a haul for Cignetti, who last season was making a little more than $555,000 as James Madison’s head coach, excluding a $120,000 retention payment that he did not get because he signed with Indiana in December 2022.

Cignetti’s deal with Indiana originally was set to be for six seasons, with a scheduled value of $27 million.

The agreement includes a variety of other possible bonuses that, in a best-case scenario, would pay a total of $3.3 million. For example, with the Hoosiers now 3-0 in Big Ten play, if they get two more conference wins, Cignetti would pick up another $100,000. If they finish among the top six in the conference standings, he would get an additional $250,000.