Kansas Athletics on Sunday evening released the full six-year, 22-page contract for new football coach Lance Leipold, whose hire was announced Friday.
Leipold, who takes over a Jayhawks football program that has won only 21 games since the 2009 season, will make a base salary of $2.2 million in his first year as coach. That haul, which doesn’t include possible performance-based incentives, breaks down as follows:
- $500,000 base salary
- $1,360,000 in professional services (examples: educational, public relations, and promotional duties)
- $340,000 in licensing
The professional services portion of Leipold’s contract will increase by $200,000 each May 1, except for May 1, 2024, when it will increase by $300,000 before returning to the normal $200,000 increase per contract year.
Here are some other details from Leipold’s deal:
- Access to two vehicles, “models of which are the highest line of the manufacture.”
- Covered travel expenses for Leipold’s family to all road football games
- Up to 12 tickets for each home football game
- 6 tickets for each road football game
- 4 tickets to each men’s basketball game
- A suite in David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium
- Memberships to the Jayhawk Club and Lawrence Country Club — which include membership dues, green fees and all business-related expenses
- Relocation fees for Leipold’s family totaling up to $50,000 for a 90-day period after the contract took effect
If Leipold is fired as KU’s coach without cause, Kansas Athletics would owe him a buyout payment equal to 70% of whatever is left on his contract at that point in time. The total value of the deal, not including any incentives, is $16.5 million.
Leipold also will have the ability to earn one-time performance bonuses each season:
- National Championship game participant, $500,000
- College Football Playoff (CFP) game participant (semi-final), $350,000
- New Year’s 6 game participant, $150,000
- Other Bowl game participant, $100,000
- Big 12 Championship game participant, $150,000
- Win 7 games in a regular season, $50,000
- Coach of Year (non-cumulative):
- AP, USA Today, Sporting News, Home Depot, AFCA (max of 1): $100,000
- Big 12: $50,000
- Top 25 Rankings Finish (USA Today/AP/ESPN/Coaches Poll/CFP): $50,000
Former KU Athletics Director Jeff Long and former football coach Les Miles were dismissed from their respective roles in March following allegations of sexual misconduct related to Miles’ coaching tenure at Louisiana State University.
Leipold will be formally introduced as KU’s football coach in a press conference at 10 a.m. Monday. It can be streamed here.
Note: This article has been corrected from a previous version.
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