Ever since becoming the Indiana head coach in November 2023, Curt Cignetti has turned the Hoosiers into a Big Ten powerhouse. In his first year in Bloomington, he led the Hoosiers to a historic 11-1 record in 2024, along with the No. 10 seed in the College Football Playoff. Cignetti was named the 2024 Big Ten Coach of the Year.
In November 2024, Indiana announced that Cignetti was awarded a new contract that would extend his previous one to three additional seasons in Bloomington. It came on the heels of a 10-0 start to the season for the first time in program history.
Cignetti's new contract includes a pay increase, various bonuses and other support from Indiana. Where does it rank among the rest of the college football world?
Let's run through the details of Cignetti's contract, including where he ranks among some of the highest-paid coaches in the country.
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Curt Cignetti contract details
Cignetti's initial contract he signed with Indiana upon his hiring in December 2023 was valued at $4.5 million a year. His new salary will pay him $8 million per year and includes a one-year retention bonus.
The new contract also goes through the year 2029. His previous one only extended through 2032. According to the Indianapolis Star, the contract additionally includes support from the school for program infrastructure, like staffing and salary pools for assistants. The paper adds that the total guaranteed compensation is around $72 million, which makes him the highest-paid Indiana employee in history.
“The university has made a very significant financial commitment to football in a lot of areas," Cignetti said in a press conference. "And I'm appreciative of the opportunity and to lead the program and continue to develop the program moving forward. I'm excited about our future.”
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Curt Cignetti salary vs. Ryan Day
The lone team to defeat the Hoosiers in the 2024 regular season was the eventual national champion Ohio State, who are led by longtime Buckeyes coach Ryan Day.
Day, who has been at OSU since 2018, is among the top-five highest-paid coaches in the nation. According to the USA Today's database of head coach salaries, Day makes $10,021,250 annually. His salary is just below Texas' Steve Sarkisian and USC's Lincoln Riley, respectively.
When Day was hired in 2018, Ohio State gave him a five-year contract that paid him $4.5 million annually. In May of 2022, Day signed a seven-year contract with the Buckeyes, which included a two-year extension that put him through 2028. He has led Ohio State to two Big Ten championships and the school's ninth national championship in 2024.
The national championship win led to the Buckeyes extending Day in February 2025, giving him a seven-year contract that lasts until 2032. Day's new contract has him making $12.5 million annually, the second-highest in all of college football.
Entering the 2025 season, Day was 70-10 over his six seasons at Ohio State. His 87.5% winning percentage is the highest by a current coach and the third highest in college football history.
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What was Curt Cignetti's salary at JMU?
Indiana's head coach has seen quite the pay increase over the last year. During his last two seasons at James Madison when he finished 19-4, Cignetti was making just over $620,000 annually. Via USA Today, Cignetti made the following:
- 2023: $677,311
- 2022: $621,008
In 2020, Cignetti's salary was $437,750 and increased to $459,638 in 2021. His first salary with the Dukes in 2019 was reportedly $425,000 per year.
When Indiana hired Cignetti in Dec. 2023, the Hoosiers paid JMU $1.2 million to complete the terms of his contract. Cignetti finished with a 52-9 record over five seasons with the Dukes and made the FCS playoff semifinals from 2019-2021, including a championship game appearance in 2019. In his last two seasons at JMU, the Dukes transitioned from FCS to the FBS, where they currently play in the Sun Belt Conference. Cignetti was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2023.
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Highest-paid college football coaches
According to Front Office Sports, these are the top 20 highest-paid head coaches in 2025:
- Georgia's Kirby Smart: $13.2 million
- Ohio State's Ryan Day: $12.5 million
- Clemson's Dabo Swinney: $11.5 million
- Oregon's Dan Lanning: $11 million
- Colorado's Deion Sanders: $10.8 million
- Texas' Steve Sarkisian: 10.8 million (tied for fifth)
- Alabama's Kalen DeBoer: $10.25 million
- USC's Lincoln Riley: $10.2 million
- UNC's Bill Belichick: $10 million
- LSU's Brian Kelly: $9.9 million
- Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz: $9 million
- Kentucky's Mark Stoops: $9 million (tied for 11th)
- Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin: $9 million (tied for 11th)
- Tennessee's Josh Heupel: $9 million (tied for 11th)
- Penn State's James Franklin: $8.5 million
- Oklahoma's Brent Venables: $8.5 million
- Miami's Mario Cristobal: $8 million
- Wisconsin's Luke Fickell: $7.725 million
- Washington's Jedd Fisch: $7.75 million
- Florida's Billy Napier: $7.29 million
Cignetti's annual salary is $500,000, plus a $1,000,000 retention bonus. In 2025, he will also make $6.8 million from annual outside, marketing and promotional income, which gets his annual salary up to $8.3 million.
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