Vols’ Josh Heupel lands extension, raise to $9M per year

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With Tennessee coming off its best season in more than two decades, football coach Josh Heupel has been rewarded with a contract extension that will pay him $9 million per year.

The raise of $4 million will take Heupel to fifth among SEC head football coaches. The only four higher are Alabama’s Nick Saban, Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher and LSU’s Brian Kelly. Heupel’s initial contract paid him $4 million annually and he was bumped to $5 million last year.

According to details of Heupel’s new contract released by the university, his buyout would be 100% of what he was owed if he were terminated without cause before Dec. 15, 2025. The buyout would drop to 75% if he were fired between Dec. 15, 2025 and Dec. 14, 2027. The buyout would decrease to 50 percent on Dec. 15, 2027.

Heupel’s incentives package was also increased. He would earn $100,000 for making a bowl game and up to $1 million for winning the national championship. Other incentives include $50,000 for finishing in the Top 25, $100,000 for finishing in the top 10 and $150,000 for finishing in the top 5 as well as additional money for playing in the SEC championship game, winning coach of the year and his team reaching certain academic progress rates. Heupel will also receive increased private jet usage.

“The results over Josh’s first two years speak for themselves,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White said in a statement. “He and his staff have energized both our football program and our fan base with an aggressive brand of football, a competitive culture that creates leaders and a relentless approach to raising the bar every single day. Despite a brief period of dormancy, Tennessee never surrendered its status as a college football powerhouse. We just needed an innovative leader like Josh Heupel to reignite the spark.

“It’s been fun to crash the party, but as Josh said after our Orange Bowl triumph [over Clemson], the best is yet to come.”

In two…