Clemson gives Dabo Swinney new six-year contract

Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney will get a new contract making him one of the highest paid coaches in the college game.

Since taking over as the head football coach of the Clemson Tigers midway through the 2008 season, Dabo Swinney has rebuilt the program into a national power after years as a middle of the road team in the ACC.

In seven full seasons coaching the Tigers, Swinney has led Clemson to three ACC Championship Game appearances (winning two of them) and had the Tigers play for the national title this past season, coming up just short of a win over the Alabama Crimson Tide but earning Clemson plenty of respect for their performance.

For his work in leading the Tigers over that span, Swinney is about to get paid by the school. We’re talking top 10 coaches in the country money. Clemson has reportedly approved a new six-year contract for Swinney that will pay him on average over $5 million a season.

The deal will start with Swinney earning $4.5 million during the 2016 season and eventually earning $5.6 million by the last year of the deal in 2021-22. It also includes plenty of incentives for things such ranging from winning the ACC and a national title to finishing in the top 10 nationally:

The new contract makes Swinney the second-highest paid coach in the ACC (trailing only FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher) and into the top 10 nationally among all FBS coaches and comes after the school paid nearly $2 million in bonuses to his assistants. Clemson opens up the 2016 season on the road September 3rd when they take on the Auburn Tigers.

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