USA TODAY Sports has released its annual list of college football head coaches' salaries. Indiana Hoosier second-year head coach Curt Cignetti is ranked the 18th-highest paid head coach in college football in 2025.
Cignetti's $8.3 million per year in 2025 contract ranks below five Big Ten coaches: Ohio State’s Ryan Day, USC’s Lincoln Riley, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, and Penn State’s James Franklin.
Georgia Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart is the highest-paid coach, earning over $13 million, while Mark Carney at Kent State was the lowest-paid reported coach, earning $300,000 per year.
In 18 games as the lead man in Bloomington, Cignetti is 16-2, including 10-1 in the Big Ten. IU made the College Football Playoffs last season losing to Notre Dame in the first round. Cignetti's other lone loss came to 2025 National Champions the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Indiana takes on Oregon in a top ten matchup this Saturday and it's the biggest game for Indiana since the CFP appearance against Notre Dame.
- Venue & Location: Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
- Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025
- Kick Off: 3:30 p.m. Eastern
- Broadcast: CBS
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti spoke highly of Oregon's head honco Dan Lanning, Cignetti has been coaching at the college level longer than Lanning has been alive (39) so "Coach Cig" knows a thing or two about identifying a top tier coach.
"Great opponent, great team, a lot of great players. Extremely well-coached," Cignetti said.
"Big, fast, athletic, physical, depth. Coach Lanning has done a tremendous job recruiting, development, attention. Probably one of the most impressive young coaching phenoms to come around in a while I would say, having been in this game for a little bit. They’re a great football team." Cignetti continued. "Looking forward to the challenge. Confidence in our team."
Heisman front runner and quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Cignetti have been a match made in heaven this season. Through five games, Mendoza has thrown 16 touchdowns, 1,208 passing yards and one interception. His completion percentage of 73.0% ranks ninth nationally and QBR is 81. 8 which is 14th in the nation.
“He's a phenomenal coach, a phenomenal guy, and he holds you to a high standard, and that's the main reason I came here,” Mendoza said. “He's an offensive mind. He holds everyone to a high standard, his program always wins and those are two things I wanted — to be held to a high standard and win."
Cignetti has one of the highest potential bonus totals in the nation per Daily Hoosier:
- $100,000 for winning five Big Ten games in a season, or $150,000 for six Big Ten wins.
- $250,000 for a top-six finish, $500,000 for a second-place finish, or $1 million for a Big Ten championship.
- $200,000 for a bowl appearance that isn’t part of the College Football Playoff, with an extra $50,000 if IU wins that bowl game.
- $500,000 for a College Football Playoff first-round appearance, $600,000 for reaching the quarterfinals, $700,000 for reaching the semifinals, $1 million for reaching the national title game, and $2 million for winning a national championship.
- $50,000 for winning Big Ten Coach of the Year, whether through the coaches vote or the media vote.
- $100,000 for winning any of the major National Coach of the Year honors (AP, the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award, Sporting News, Walter Camp, Maxwell Football Club, or ABC/ESPN).