Details of Whittingham's new 4-year, $11M contract


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SALT LAKE CITY — Kyle Whittingham signed a new four-year contract in January, keeping the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12 under contract until the 2018 season.

Whittingham’s four-year, $11 million contract details were made available to KSL.com through a GRAMA request with the university. The latest is the second amendment to the contract Whittingham signed in May 2011 and extends his deal through Dec. 31, 2018.

The following are the changes to his contract:

Whittingham’s 2015 base salary increased from $590,000 to $685,000 and will increase $100,000 per year of the contract. In addition, Whittingham received an increase in his radio and television (from $620,000 to $705,000) and appearance fee (from $815,000 to $935,000) salaries. His outfitter salary of $275,000 remains the same but will increase based off the annual rights fees “in the same percentage as his current shares.”

With all the above factors considered, Whittingham’s yearly salary increased from $2.4 million this year to $2.6 million.

In addition to his base salary, Whittingham is set to make $300,000 per season if his team plays in the New Year’s Six or in a playoff bowl game (the same as if the team had played in a BCS bowl prior to the College Football Playoffs). If Utah finishes in the top 25 in the Associated Press/USA Today Coaches final poll, Whittingham will receive $100,000, which is $25,000 more than his 2011 contract.

Whittingham will also see an increase in bonuses based on the academic performance of his players, increasing from the max of $15,000 to $50,000.

Academic Progress Rate

• $50,000 if team’s APR is at least 970

• $25,000 if team’s APR is at least 960

• $10,000 if team’s APR is at least 950

Graduation Success Rate

• $50,000 if the team’s GSR is at least 70 percent

• $25,000 if the team’s GSR is at least 60 percent

• $10,000 if the team’s GSR is at least 50 percent

Under the latest contract extension, there is no change to the 2011 penalties set for terminiating the contract early for either the university or Whittingham.

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