A national champion will be crowned on Monday, but not all eyes in the college football world were on the upcoming game between Alabama and Ohio State on Friday.
Michigan and Jim Harbaugh made national news when the head coach signed a new five-year deal that runs through the 2025 season.
Under the new contract, Harbaugh, who earned just over $ 8 million in 2020, is taking a significant cut in base salary. He earns a base salary of $ 4 million in 2021, which will rise to $ 4.426 million in 2025.
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Harbaugh is now going from the highest paid head coach in the Big Ten to eighth, according to a 2020 survey by USA Today on salaries for college football coaching.
But the new deal includes incentives, including $ 1 million each for winning the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff. In addition, Harbaugh is entitled to a $ 500,000 bonus if Michigan wins the Big Ten East Division live and a $ 500,000 bonus if he reaches the CFP semifinals.
The news is across the country with mixed reactions. Here are some notable headlines and reactions to Harbaugh left in Ann Arbor.
ESPN College GameDay Analyst David Pollock on College Football Live: “They did it to keep recruitment together, to keep the thing together,” Pollack said. ‘It’s a contract that’s not going to have a big buyout, which means that if they want to move on to Jim Harbaugh in the near future, they can do it. Harbaugh, that was interesting. Because recruitment so went up with him during his tenure. It started so well. Then it’s been so bad for the past year. Something has to change with this Harbaugh regime. Clearly, the firing of his DC … made changes.
“It does not mean that Harbaugh will be the coach for the next five years. That means they are locking him up for recruiting purposes and we will see how it goes next year. ”
ESPN analyst Michael Wilbon on Sorry The Interruption“For people who are shocked that Harbaugh wants to come back, why is he not looking for an NFL job? One, there may not be as many NFL teams out there creating a market for him that he would like. But most importantly, Harbaugh wants to do it. This is his alma mater. He wants to win at Michigan. He wants to beat The Ohio State University and he wants to be in the playoffs. That’s why Jim Harbuagh came there. It’s not like a plum, and it’s going to be bad if he had to leave it. No, it was an elite college job for him. It gives him the chance. Let me just say this, with some big ten sources and people I’m close to and some who went to Michigan, not everyone will be happy about it at first. The only thing that will make him happy is if he does the two things. ‘
Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan contract is a rarity – a fair deal for both parties (The Athletic)
Why Jim Harbaugh and Michigan Reunited Now, and What’s Next (ESPN +)
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