Curt Cignetti came to Indiana with one thing on his mind, and that was to win. What Cignetti did in one season at Indiana makes sense after seeing what Cignetti has done at every other school he has coached. He knows how to take programs that are completely down and bring them to an elite level.
For years, Indiana has been known as a basketball school, which makes sense with how big the sport of basketball is in the state of Indiana. Cignetti was able to come in and completely change the culture of the football program and show them what a winning program looks like.
There was a lot of speculation around how Cignetti would do moving from coaching at a lot of smaller schools to now being a head coach at a Big Ten school. However, the long-time head coach showed that he could do, and do it his way. Even when everything didn't think Indiana belonged, he led the Hoosiers to their first-ever College Football Playoff, and while they lost in the first round, the two teams currently in the National Championship are the only two teams Indiana lost to this season.
So, with a new head coach and having so much success in his first season, how much does Curt Cignetti make at Indiana?
How much is Cignetti actually getting paid each season?
In November of the 2024 season, Indiana signed Cignetti to an 8-year contract extension that will keep him in Bloomington until 2032. When the contract is broken down, Cignetti is currently earning $8 million per year with a $1 million annual retention bonus.
So when it is put together, Cignetti will make around $72 million in his time with Indiana under his current contract. There are also incentives built into his contracts, such as $100,000 for winning five conference games, $250,000 for finishing in the top six of the Big Ten, $500,000 for finishing second, and $1 million for winning the conference.
If Cignetti were to be fired by Indiana, the university would owe him 85% of his remaining salary. If Cignetti were to leave now, he would owe the university $13 million, and if he leaves after next season, he would owe $10 million.