Tennessee now officially has a head coach. And they got him for cheaper than their previous head coach.
The University of Tennessee released the Memorandum of Understanding for Jeremy Pruitt to become the Vols’ next head football coach, And in that MOU, there was a complete breakdown of Pruitt’s contract with Tennessee.
We have all the details of Pruitt’s six-year, $3.8 million contract, and there are some interesting tidbits in it.
- His contract began on December 7th of this year and runs through January 31st of 2024
- Pruitt’s base compensation is $275,000 annually
- His annual supplemental compensation of $3,525,000 comes from income earned by the University of Tennessee under various broadcast, endorsement, and/or consultation contracts
- He has an annual compensation of $10,000 for summer football camp services
- He gets either a monthly vehicle allowance of $1,600 or two vehicles of quality, in terms of make and model, similar to vehicles provided to other university head coaches for personal use
- He receives a one-time moving allowance of $35,000 and a housing allowance of $10,000 per month through June 30th of 2018
- 12 season football tickets in the lower bowl of Neyland Stadium, use of a suite for his family and guests, and four season parking passes
- Pruitt’s buyout if he is fired “without cause” is $6 million if he is let go before December 15th of 2018 and decreases by a million dollars every year until 2022 when there would be no payment due him if he is fired without cause on or after December 15th of 2022
Pruitt’s MOU also outlines several incentives he can earn while being head coach of the Vols. The lowest total of compensation he can receive from incentives is $50,000, and he can earn that by getting a single year or four year APR score of 945 or greater, finishing in the top 25 in the AP, USA Today/Coaches, or College Football Playoff Poll, and winning the AP SEC Coach of the Year award.
Pruitt can earn $100,000 in incentives if the Vols finish in the top 10 of the postseason polls or $150,000 if they finish in the top 5. According to his MOU, he can only receive a maximum of one of those incentives; they don’t stack on top of each other and payment is based on highest goal achieved.
If Pruitt’s Tennessee squad earns a single year or four year APR score of 985 or greater, he receives a $100,000 bonus. If he wins the AP National Coach of the Year award, he receives a $100,000 bonus.
Should Tennessee appear in the SEC Championship game, Pruitt will receive a $100,000 bonus. If the Vols win that SEC Championship Game, he receives a $300,000 bonus. The same rules apply to this section as the poll finishes; only the highest goal achieved is awarded, not both if both happen.
When it comes to bowl games and other postseason play, here’s the breakdown of Pruitt’s possible incentives (same rules about highest goal achieved as well):
Bowl Appearance: $100,000
CFP Access Bowl Appearance: $200,000
CFP Semifinal Game Appearance: $300,000
CFP National Championship Game Appearance: $400,000
Winning National Title: $500,000
The maximum amount of incentive compensation that Pruitt can earn in any single year with the Vols is $1.2 million under this current contract.
Although his MOU doesn’t mention it, there are multiple reports that state Pruitt has a $5 million pool to draw from to pay his assistant coaches.
