The Indiana Hoosiers, once a doormat program in the Big Ten, have officially become titleholders. They won the 2026 national championship game, defeating Miami 27-21 in a dominant fourth-quarter clutch showing. Head coach Curt Cignetti, on his penultimate drive of the quarter, capped off two 4th-down conversions, including a 4th-and-5 touchdown. With this feat, Cignetti is set to earn big in the CFB market.

According to Cignetti’s contract, the IU head coach will reportedly earn a $2 million bonus for leading Indiana to a perfect 16-0 season finish that concluded with a national title win. The performance incentive was part of Cignetti’s contract extension in October 2025, which gave him an $11.6 million per year deal.

Before the national championship game, Cignetti had already accumulated a significant bonus. The Big Ten title win alone gave him a $1 million bonus, and he got  $150,000 for conference game wins. Awards like Big Ten Coach of the Year and national coaching honors gave him another $100,000 and $50,000 each. Not to mention, the natty win has now triggered a “good faith market review” clause.

“It took a lot to get here, but I’ll tell you what it took to come out ahead in this game was a lot of guts. I give Miami a lot of credit,” Cignetti said after the Miami win. “Let me tell you, we won the national championship at Indiana University. It can be done. And I’m so happy for our fans. Words can’t describe it,” the IU head coach added.

Upon winning the national championship, Indiana is also obliged to make Cignetti the top-3 highest paid head coach in the country, as stipulated by his “good faith market review” clause. The said clause will reportedly come into effect within 120 days of winning the title. If a settlement isn’t reached, a valuation expert will determine a payout as Cignetti will exit the team. However, the chances of it happening are quite slim. It would be quite a feat since, before coming to Indiana, the head coach had earned just $3.5 million in 41 seasons as head coach.

Curt Cignetti set to earn more than Ryan Day

Currently, Kirby Smart is the highest-paid head coach with a $13.28 million per year payout, followed by Lane Kiffin’s $13 million. Ryan Day’s payout at Ohio State stands at $12.58 million, and now Cignetti will surpass Day in his next extension, which would be within 120 days from today. It’s a stark contrast to the $425,000 per year sum he earned at JMU in 2019-2020.

Even coming into the 2023 season, Cignetti was earning just $677,371 at JMU and started later at $4.25 million per year at Indiana in 2024. But now, Cignetti’s contract signing bonus alone was $250,000, $1.5 million in Big Ten bonuses, and $1 million in CFP-related bonuses. So, the estimated total 2025 season bonus for Cignetti could lie somewhere around the $3 million region, excluding the $2 million national title bonus.

At 64, when many head coaches are looking at the climax of their career, Cignetti has just started. What would be more fitting than the national championship with college football’s second-losingest programs? One of the best underdog turnarounds indeed. NFL contracts are likely to come rolling in, and college bluebloods could come looking for him. But the head coach is probably keeping his Hoosiers’ loyalty intact. With that, the Big Ten outfit is ready to usher in a new championship era led by Curt Cignetti.

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