Luke Fickell’s new contract makes it tougher for Power 5 teams to poach Cincinnati head coach
By John Buhler
Luke Fickell may not be leaving Cincinnati football for the Power 5 now.
Cincinnati football wisely put together a new contract to keep Luke Fickell around for a while.
Per ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, “Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell has finalized a contract extension through the 2026 season that will increase his salary to $3.4 million annually.” Fickell was a potential candidate to be poached by a Power 5 team next offseason, but it looks like he’ll be coaching the Cincinnati Bearcats for the foreseeable future on his new incentive-laden deal.
What are the details of Luke Fickell’s new deal with Cincinnati football?
Rittenberg reports, “The new agreement, obtained by ESPN, contains a bonus structure that will pay Fickell $250,000 if Cincinnati reaches a New Year’s Six bowl or the College Football Playoff, and includes $50,000 bonuses for a top-25 finish, a regular-season AAC title and an AAC championship game victory.”
As for a potential buyout, “Fickell’s new agreement includes a $4 million buyout if he were to leave Cincinnati before Jan. 1, 2021. The buyout drops by $500,000 in each subsequent year of the deal. Cincinnati would owe Fickell $23.8 million if it terminates him without cause before Jan. 1, 2021, with the amount decreasing each of the next three years by $3.4 million.”
While there wasn’t expected to be a ton of rotation on the coaching carousel this offseason, especially with the Big Ten and the Pac-12 not playing this fall, there will be a few of jobs available this winter out of the ACC, Big 12 and SEC as it is every year. However, Fickell is probably better off staying put than replacing someone like Will Muschamp with the SEC’s South Carolina Gamecocks.
The $4 million buyout prior to Jan. 1 2021 almost ensures us Fickell isn’t going anywhere. That’s a huge number for any coach, let alone a Group of 5 coach. Essentially, we’re looking at two years worth of games where Fickell would be foolish to leave, as his buyout would be more than his annual salary. That’s not to say he’s trapped, but he won’t be heading to the Power 5 for a while.
Fickell has his Bearcats inside of the AP Preseason Top 25 Poll for the first time in school history at No. 20. Cincinnati is one of the better teams in The American and therefore, one of the most likely teams to earn the Group of 5’s New Year’s Six bowl bid handed out by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Simply put, Fickell is in a good spot and doesn’t need to leave yet.
With a few more dollars hitting his bank out, don’t expect Fickell to coach Power 5 ball in 2021.
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