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BOCA RATON – Six months after FAU and Lane Kiffin announced they had reached an agreement in principle that would make Kiffin the Owls’ coach for the next 10 years, that deal is finally official.
Kiffin and new athletic director Brian White signed the contract on June 13. One week later, FAU president Dr. John Kelly added his signature.
Should he remain at FAU for the length of the contract, Kiffin will be the Owls’ coach through 2027.
In 2017, Kiffin’s first year at the helm of FAU, the Owls posted a program-best 11-3 record, won their first Conference USA championship and claimed the Boca Raton Bowl title. FAU and Kiffin originally announced the contract extension agreement on the same day as the Boca Bowl blowout of Arkon.
OwlAccess.com acquired a copy of the contract via a public records request.
The amended contract does not change Kiffin’s annual base salary of $950,000, but it does add a retention bonus of $50,000 per year.
The performance bonuses, many of which were left as To Be Determined in Kiffin’s original contract, now have dollar amounts.
Kiffin will receive $20,000 for an FAU appearance in the Conference USA championship game. Should the Owls lose championship game but still receive an at-large bowl bid Kiffin will receive an additional $10,000. If the Owls win the Conference USA championship game, Kiffin receives a total of $40,000.
That amount jumps to $100,000 if the Owls earn an invitation to a college football playoff bowl game.
The contract also calls for bonuses if the Owls end the season ranked in the coaches’ poll. Kiffin will receive $50,000 if the Owls end the season in the Top 25, $100,000 if FAU is in the Top 10, and $1 million if the Owls end the season as a Top 10 team for three consecutive season.
Kiffin would also be awarded $1 million if he leads FAU to the national title – an increase of $700,000 from his original deal. If the Owls reach a college football playoff semifinal game Kiffin will now receive $250,000 rather than the $100,000 in his original contract. The total jumps to $500,000 if the Owls reach, but don’t win, the NCAA title game. That’s up from $150,000 in his first contract.
If Kiffin led FAU to the national title, he would almost certainly be named the national Coach of the Year. That honor would earn Kiffin an extra $100,000 – quadruple the amount specified in his original contract. He’ll receive $15,000 for being named Conference USA coach of the year, double the original amount.
Kiffin will also receive bonuses for the academic performance of his players, beginning with a $10,000 bonus if the football team’s APR score is 940 or better and ranging all the way up to $250,000 should the football APR score land FAU in the Top 10 nationally for three consecutive seasons. All of the APR related bonuses except for the $25,000 incentive for a team GPA of 3.0 or better, represent an increase over Kiffin’s original contract. The team GPA bonus remains unchanged.
FAU elected not to alter the buyout clause in Kiffin’s contract. Leaving between now and January of 2019 would cost Kiffin $2 million. The buyout drops $500,000 per year through 2021.
Kiffin originally signed a five-year contract with FAU in December of 2016.
Florida Atlantic will enter the 2018 season riding a 10-game winning streak.
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