News updates are sent daily. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Details of Erickson's ASU contract released
Digg|
Save|
License|
Print|
E-mail|
Arizona State football coach Dennis Erickson will be paid $5.6 million over the next five years.
Lisa Olson, Tribune
Dennis Erickson will receive a guaranteed $5.6 million as Arizona State football coach under the terms of a five-year contract that is expected to be approved by the Arizona Board of Regents next week.
The deal runs through the 2011 season and is heavy on bonus incentives based on the Sun Devils’ win total, grade point average and graduation rate.
Erickson, 59, will earn $450,000 in base pay each season and $50,000 of additional compensation in 2007. The latter figure gets a huge bump afterward, rising to $825,000 annually for the final four years of the deal.
The regents meet on March 8-9 at the University of Arizona.
In 2007, Erickson will collect his final paychecks from the San Francisco 49ers, who fired him after the 2004 season with three years and $7.5 million remaining on his contract.
The incentive clauses are similar to those given to former ASU coach Dirk Koetter when he received an extension in March 2006. That pact, which was to run through the 2009 season, paid Koetter a guaranteed $950,000 a year.
Erickson can earn up to $1.15 million per season in on-field bonuses.
He receives a $50,000 bonus if ASU wins eight regular season games, a $100,000 bonus for a ninth win, $200,000 for a 10th, $300,000 for an 11th and $400,000 for a 12th.
He would also receive one postseason bonus: $25,000 for a bowl game, $50,000 for a Bowl Championship Series berth or $100,000 for a BCS national championship game appearance.
An academic-performance bonus (grade point average or graduation rate, whichever is higher) could provide Erickson up to 10 percent of his salary.
Should ASU dismiss Erickson before the contract expires, it will owe him 50 percent of any remaining salary, unless the school has such cause as a Pac-10 or NCAA rules violation.
The school owed Koetter 100 percent of his remaining salary, which worked out to a $2.47 million buyout, when it fired him in November.
If Erickson leaves ASU for another coaching job, he would owe the school a $750,000 buyout. He also will receive tickets to ASU sporting events, use of two automobiles or a stipend and playing privileges at Karsten Golf Course.
Please add your comments, but follow these guidelines to keep this a safe, credible place for discussing the news: