Curt Cignetti, Indiana Conform to Deal That Makes Him Third-Highest-Paid CFB Coach

Just two years into his tenure at Indiana, Curt Cignetti has earned himself another pricey deal.

Cignetti and Indiana have agreed to an eight-year, $92.8 million deal that will make him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football, the school announced Thursday. Cignetti will be paid $11.6 million annually, with the contract running through Nov. 30, 2033. Cignetti’s $11.6 million salary only trails Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($13.003 million) and Ohio State’s Ryan Day for the highest coaching salaries in college football. 

In his first two seasons in Bloomington, Cignetti has helped spearhead one of the more remarkable turnarounds in college football history. The Hoosiers went 11-2 in 2024, reaching the College Football Playoff before losing to Notre Dame in the first round. This year, Indiana has gotten out to a 6-0 start, with its upset win at Oregon in Week 7 helping the program receive its highest ranking ever in the AP Poll (No. 3).

The extension also comes as Cignetti was rumored to be a candidate to replace James Franklin at Penn State after Indiana’s Big Ten rival fired its head coach on Sunday. However, the 64-year-old Cignetti has expressed a desire to build Indiana into a title contender after getting hired from James Madison in November 2023.

“Our team knows that I have 100 percent commitment to developing this football team to its fullest potential,” Cignetti said on Wednesday’s episode of “The Joel Klatt Show.”

Cignetti also signed a new contract in the middle of the 2024 season amid Indiana’s 10-0 start. That contract doubled his salary, paying him $8 million per year. 

“At Indiana University, we are committed to performing at the highest levels in everything we do, and no one has exemplified that more than Coach Cignetti,” Indiana president Pamela Whitten said in a release. “Put simply, Cig is a winner.  From last year’s College Football Playoff appearance to this year’s top-3 national ranking, the IU Football program’s success has been tremendous. Curt and Manette Cignetti are home in Indiana and we are delighted that the Cignetti family will be Hoosiers for many years to come.”

“We are committed to investing in IU Football in such a way that we can compete at a championship level, and the No. 1 priority in doing that is ensuring that Coach Cignetti is the leader of our program,” Indiana vice president and athletic director Scott Dolson added. “His accomplishments during the last season and a half have been nothing short of remarkable.  As much as anyone, he believed in what was possible with our program, and he’s turned that belief into reality. This is a great day for IU Football and Indiana University. I look forward to working alongside Coach Cignetti for many years to come.”

Now, with any questions about Cignetti’s future out of the way, Indiana appears poised to make the College Football Playoff for a second straight season. It takes on Michigan State and it doesn’t have any regular-season games left against a team that’s currently ranked.

But Cignetti is still keeping the focus on Indiana’s upcoming opponent, and nothing else.

“I don’t think that far down the road in terms of perennial this or that. I’m more focused on today and trying to get the most out today, which is Michigan State, and trying to get a few first downs to maybe kick a field goal,” Cignetti told The Joel Klatt Show. “But all the oars are paddling in the same direction here, which is important. 

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