Once an underdog in the Big Ten, Indiana football rewrote its history books and is now the real deal. Under coach Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers marked their first-ever College Football Playoff berth in 2024 with a 10-2 record. The 63-10 demolition of Illinois proves the Hoosiers are no pushovers. The credit goes to Cignetti, who signed an eight-year, $93 million contract, but the deal has a striking curveball.

The $93 million contract extension made Cignetti one of the highest-paid coaches in the FBS. He will draw an annual average salary of approximately $11.6 million. “At Indiana University, we are committed to performing at the highest levels in everything we do, and no one has exemplified that more than Coach Cignetti,” Indiana president Pamela Whitten said. However, as per the new deal, Cignetti will initially owe the university $15 million if he were to resign. 

On October 16, NBC Sports analyst Nicole Auerbach tweeted, “Under the terms of his new deal, Curt Cignetti would owe Indiana $15 million if he leaves voluntarily, sources tell @NBCSports. He said today he plans to retire as a Hoosier.” Cignetti collected more than $13 million in total through this season and last. Now, with this contract extension, the buyout language needs attention, too.

Under the terms of the new deal, Cignetti would be on the hook for $15 million if he chose to resign. By contrast, his previous contract stipulated “liquidated damages” of $13 million for a resignation before December 1, dropping to $10 million afterward. Meanwhile, as reported by On3’s Alec Lasley, “With Curt Cignetti’s new deal at Indiana, his buyout increases to $15 million, source confirms with http://TheHoosier.com.” With this contract extension, one program loses all hope. 

Cignetti, running the pen over his contract papers, closed the door for Penn State Nittany Lions, who are in desperate search to fill their coaching seat, after they got rid of James Franklin. Cignetti’s work with the Hoosiers could be the need of the hour for Penn State. Here comes the Indiana head coach’s comparison with the other Penn State interest, Nebraska Cornhuskers’ Matt Rhule. 

Cignetti’s new buyout figure is nearly double what it would take to buy out Rhule out of Lincoln. If he swaps the bandwagon, the damage paid to the Nebraska head coach will be $5 million. But as of now, we do not have to worry about Cignetti putting a full stop to his Indiana chapter. 

From chaos to consistency: Curt Cignetti stabilizes Indiana

Already, Indiana’s hitting the ‘new contract’ button did not sit well with ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum. To him, making a coach the third-highest paid coach in football after 17 wins calls for a lot of risk. He drew a comparison between the Hoosiers’ eight-year contract extension gift to Cignetti to keep him locked in and Michigan State’s Mel Tucker move. 

“I remember… about three or four years ago, Michigan State was afraid they were going to lose Mel Tucker. They gave him $100 million contract. He proceeded to lose to Ohio State by about 49-7. He ended up falling apart, getting fired,” Finebaum stirred Cignetti’s pot a little. However, the Indiana head coach is grateful for where he is at the present and what his Indiana fam offered him. 

“I’m fortunate to have great consistency on my coaching staff. You know, my offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, I hired as part-time coaches at the D2 level for about 8,000 bucks. Those guys have been with me, you know, 11–12 years, and that would be Bryant Haynes and Mike Shanahan. Grant Cain, my special teams coordinator, has been with me about six, seven years. But a number of other people in the organization have been with me a long time, so they know how we do things,” Cignetti sounded content.

So, the consistency his team offered propelled Curt Cignetti to reach what he is today. Being the third-highest-paid coach in the country, he has only two more rivals to beat to get the top seat. The ones before him are Ryan Day at 12.5 million and Kirby Smart at 13.2 million. Now, you know how the “Google me, I win” mindset paid off for Cignetti in the long run.