After a winding search with more twists and turns than a winding road through the Poconos, Penn State finally secured its next head coach when it nabbed Matt Campbell away from Big 12 Conference program Iowa State late last week.
On Monday, as Campbell was formally introduced at Penn State as the storied program’s replacement to the fired James Franklin, Penn State also revealed the salary and terms of Campbell’s eight-year contract to lead the program.
“No. 1, if you’re ever going to leave or you’re ever going to move, it better be about your family,” said Campbell, a Massilon, Ohio, native. “(Toledo was) two-and-a-half hours away from home. To be able to have my father and my mother and my brother and my wife’s family be able to come and be a part of this journey with me, that means a lot.
“I think No. 2, obviously you want to be around great people. If we’re going to leave, we want to leave for the best. It was one conversation with (Penn State A.D. Pat Kraft) and I knew what their demand is and wanted to be the best for the right reasons. … If we were ever going to leave Iowa State, I wanted to go somewhere and I wanted to finish my career and I wanted to stand for something.”
Campbell’s first-year salary at Penn State is $8 million as part of the $70.5 million guaranteed by the deal, which was inked to run through the 2033 season. Retention bonuses, set to be $1 million annually for each completed year, can lift the total value of the deal to almost $80 million.
Escalators to Campbell’s base pay kick into effect in the second and third years, lifting the salary to $8.5 million in 2028.
Starting with the 2029 year, Campbell is guaranteed to earn at least $9 million per year. His final three years of guaranteed compensation are presently set at $9.250 million.
Performance incentives largely are focused on the College Football Playoff; for any Nittany Lions berth in the College Football Playoff, Campbell is guaranteed at minimum an increase of $500,000 and automatic one-year extension to his deal.
If Penn State wins a national championship, Campbell’s salary is guaranteed to increase by at least $1 million and includes an automatic two-year extension to the original term.
A CFP semifinals appearance is worth $500,000, a CFP title-game berth makes the number $800,000 and a national championship includes a $1 million bonus in addition to the structured extensions and raises in base compensation.
Campbell’s buyout, should Penn State elect to fire him without cause, is for the full value of the contract. He would be required to seek additional employment for offset mitigation of the money owed.
