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National champion Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti has reportedly finalized a contract that will now pay him an average salary of $13.2 million through the 2033 college football season, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN on Friday (February 20).
Cignetti, 64, will remained signed for the same amount of time, but his salary will increase from the previous annual value of $11.6 million. Indiana had previously announced a new deal for Cignetti in October, which it said was made after a "good market faith review" that activated after the Hoosiers reached the College Football Playoff semifinal.
The review required both sides to negotiate a new deal 120 days after the College Football Playoff semifinal and adjust the salary to make Cignetti at least the third-highest-paid coach in college football. Cignetti is now among college football's highest-paid coaches along with Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart, who makes $13.2 million annually, and newly hired LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin, who is currently earning a salary of at least $13 million annually.
Indiana has experienced a program renaissance under Cignetti, who has gone 27-2 (17-1 Big Ten) and made the College Football Playoff during each of his first two seasons in Bloomington, leading the team to its first national championship in football program history. The Hoosiers defeated No. 9 Alabama, 38-3, in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on January 1 and No. 5 Oregon, 56-22, in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Peach Bowl on January 9.