Iowa's seventh win meant good things for Kirk Ferentz's bank account
Iowa’s B1G title hopes are all but over and the program clinched bowl eligibility with last week’s stunner against Michigan.
So what was Iowa playing for at Illinois on Saturday?
Well, Kirk Ferentz was paying for an extra $2.25 million. With a 28-0 win at Illinois, that’s exactly what Ferentz got.
Iowa up 21-0 at Illinois in 4th quarter. 7th win guarantees another $2.25 million for Kirk Ferentz.
— Brian Bennett (@GBrianBennett) November 19, 2016
To be clear, the bonus was part of a provision put in Ferentz’s 10-year contract extension he signed in September. According to USA Today, Ferentz’s seventh win triggered a provision in which the sixth year of the deal goes from being 50 percent guaranteed if Ferentz is fired without cause to being 100 percent guaranteed.
Ferentz won’t receive that $2 million until 2021-22. He was scheduled to make $2.87 million in base salary and $1.48 million in recurring supplemental payments in the sixth year of the deal. With that provision, his total salary will be $4.35 million.
The deal stated that if Ferentz won seven games in 2016 and was fired before that sixth season, he would get 50 percent of the base salary and 100 percent of the supplemental payments in a buyout.
The seventh win was also beneficial to the Iowa coaching staff. Now with seven wins, if the Hawkeyes finish with an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of at least 67.5, the assistant coaching staff budget will increase by 8 percent (USA Today).
What’s the next goal for Ferentz? Beat Nebraska. If he does that and gets an eighth win, he’ll get a $500,000 bonus.
In other news, Ferentz’s agent is a smart man.