Details of Mel Tucker's contract have been released and WKAR has received a copy of the employment agreement. Tucker was officially named as the 25th head coach of the Michigan State football program yesterday.
Tucker has a base salary of $3.8 million, $1.2 million in supplemental annual income, and a $400,000 retention bonus through a six-year deal to the year 2026. Tucker will also receive $100,000 annually from suppliers of footwear and apparel for the program, moving his annual pay to $5.5 million. Written in the contract is a $6 million pool for 10 assistants in his first year as head coach and MSU will pay $3 million to the University of Colorado for Tucker's contract buyout.
Fringe benefits include the use of two automobiles, six complimentary football season tickets, four complimentary ice hockey season tickets, and four complimentary men's and women's basketball season tickets, four seats on the program team plane and two hotel rooms for any post-season football games, in addition to team plane seats for the coach's wife and dependent children, and the use of a private plane for 25 hours annually (for the personal, non-business travel for Tucker or guests / family).
Performance incentive bonuses include:
- $100,000 to Tucker if the team wins the Big Ten divisional championship and participates in the Big Ten Conference championship game.
- $100,000 to Tucker if the team wins the Big Ten Conference championship game.
- $25,000 to Tucker if he is named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
- $50,000 to Tucker if he is named the National Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.
- $75,000 to Tucker if the team plays in any bowl game as the Big Ten's four-seed, or lower overall.
- $125,000 to Tucker if the team plays in a non-College Football Playoff bowl game as either the Big Ten's two-seed or three-seed.
- $250,000 to Tucker if the team plays in a CFP non-semi-final bowl game.
- $275,000 to Tucker if the team plays in a CFP semi-final game.
- $300,000 to Tucker if the team plays in the college football championship game.
- $375,000 to Tucker if the team wins the college football championship game.
The contract was signed and dated by Mel Tucker and MSU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. on February 12, 2020.
