New Gophers football coach Jerry Kill will receive $50,000 for winning a fifth Big Ten Conference game each season, according to information provided to Sports Headliners by the University of Minnesota.
Former coach Tim Brewster’s Big Ten Conference career record was 6-21 and athletic director Joel Maturi wants Kill to be rewarded for league wins. Kill’s agreement with Minnesota provides for him to earn $25,000 for each additional Big Ten win beyond No. 5.
Kill’s five-year, $1.1 million agreement includes other incentives such as $150,000 for a Big Ten championship and $100,000 for a division title. If Kill coaches the Gophers to the national championship game he receives $150,000 and another $50,000 for winning.
There are many incentives in his agreement including those that are based on academic performance by his players. Although improbable, Kill could earn about $700,000 in a year that he qualified for all incentives including a national title.
If Kill decides to leave the Gophers for another school he must pay double his base salary of $500,000 to the University. (He receives $600,000 in supplemental salary for radio-TV work and other duties to bring his total annual package without incentives to $1.1 million).
If the University terminates Kill without cause (no misconduct) he must be paid half of his total salary for the remaining years of the contract. Kill said no one has to worry about asking him to leave if he doesn’t perform for the Gophers. “I’ll tell ’em they need to get rid of me,” Kill said. “That’s the truth.”
If Kill wins at Minnesota like his other head coaching stops, nobody will be using the four-letter fire word. He has a 127-73 record in 17 seasons. In three of his four coaching assignments he took over programs with losing records and turned in a winning record in three years or less. He was the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year after a 12-2 season at Southern Illinois.
The former Northern Illinois coach has been operating almost without sleep the last several days while ending his commitment with the Huskies and spending time in Minneapolis. Activities have included Monday’s news conference, a meeting with high school football coaching leaders, and calls to donors and Gophers legends Bud Grant, Tony Dungy and Bobby Bell.