
Winning tends to smooth over doubts in college football. For the Indiana Hoosiers, victories have done more than lift spirits. They have opened wallets.
Curt Cignetti has turned Indiana into a college football powerhouse, and the university is making sure he sticks around.
The Hoosiers head coach just locked in his third contract extension in a little over two years, and this one's a monster.
Indiana won its first national championship in January, capping off a season that seemed impossible just a few years ago when Cignetti first took over. The program went from irrelevant to elite under his watch, and now, the school is paying him like it.
According to IndyStar on Friday, Cignetti agreed to yet another deal, paying him an average of $13.2M annually through 2033. That figure now sits among the richest publicly known salaries in the sport.
The head Hoosier was owed a new contract with his team's run in the College Football Playoff. Here's why and how much he's paid amongst other top coaches: https://t.co/7we3ssHC7c pic.twitter.com/bGdjxBw3um
— IndyStar (@indystar) February 20, 2026
His previous contract ran through the same timeframe but came in at about $11.6M per season. The new number puts him in elite company.
Only Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart are averaging at least $13M annually among college coaches right now. Kiffin signed a seven-year, $91M contract with LSU in December. Smart landed a 10-year extension at Georgia in May 2024 worth $130M.
Moreover, Ohio State's Ryan Day is making $12.5M per year on his most recent seven-year deal, for comparison.
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