COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – In November, when Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts spoke in general terms about new contracts for himself and Aggie head coach Mike Elko, he recognized that jobs in the college athletics sphere are modernizing rapidly because of changes in the ability to pay college athletes.
Elko’s new contract, released to KBTX Monday via open records request, is marked by language reflecting that modernization.
As was previously reported, the contract runs through the 2031 season. However, new details, such as Elko’s starting base salary of $10.75 million that escalates to $12.25 million in the sixth and final year, were released in the contract Monday.
“Meant a lot to see the commitment that the university had, not only with me, because it never felt like it was going to be about me,” Elko said in November. “It was never going to get stuck on what I wanted. It was the commitment to the program, to the staff, to the support staff, to the auxiliary staff, to the players, to making sure that we could run this program in a way that I believe will allow us to continue to change championships year-in and year-out.”
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The first year of the contract runs from Nov. 14, 2025, the day a memorandum of understanding was agreed upon by both parties, and runs through Dec. 31, 2026. Elko is slated to make $10.75 million in base salary and will add, at minimum, $1 million in incentives for making the College Football Playoff field.
Elko’s previous contract as A&M’s head coach consisted of a base salary of $7 million with a wide range of incentives for various successful season milestones. Dollar amounts for making the College Football Playoff and advancing in the bracket were higher in this incentive-driven contract compared to his new deal.
Elko’s base salary will increase by $300,000 each year of the contract term. Elko’s initial base salary gives him the sixth-highest salary in the country, according to the USA Today database of coaching salaries. By the end of the contract, Elko would be the third-highest-paid coach in the country, according to 2025 salaries. Naturally, other salaries on the list are contractually obligated to raise as well, so it is difficult to determine where Elko would stand in 2031.
Mike Elko base salary by year (via new contract)Contract YearDatesBase SalaryYear 1Nov. 14, 2025 – Dec. 31, 2026$10,750,00.00Year 2Jan. 1, 2027 – Dec. 31, 2027$11,050,000.00Year 3Jan. 1, 2028 – Dec. 31, 2028$11,350,000.00Year 4Jan. 1, 2029 – Dec. 31, 2029$11,650,000.00Year 5Jan. 1, 2030 – Dec. 31, 2030$11,950,000.00Year 6Jan. 1, 2031 – Jan 31, 2032$12,250,000.00
If the Aggie football team wins nine or more games during the term of the contract or is selected to play in the College Football Playoff, Elko’s contract will automatically extend by one year. If the playoff field expands to more than 15 teams, an automatic extension will only trigger if the team is ranked in the top 16 of the final College Football Playoff rankings, according to the contract. In the first automatically-extended season, Elko’s salary will increase to $12.55 million and will increase by $300,000 for every additional automatically added year after.
In the 2026 season and beyond, Elko can earn incentives as high as $1.25 million for winning a national championship down to $250,000 for winning the SEC title game and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff field
Mike Elko regular season and individual incentivesIncentivePaymentTeam appears in SEC Championship Game$100,000Coach wins the Associated Press Coach of the Year Award$100,000Team achieves Multi-Year APR Score of 960 or above$50,000Coach wins the SEC Coach of the Year Award (solo or shared)$50,000Mike Elko postseason incentivesIncentivePaymentTeam wins CFP National Championship Game$1,250,000Team participates in CFP National Championship Game$850,000Team participates in a CFP Semi-Final Game$750,000Team participates in a CFP Quarter-Final Game$500,000Team qualifies for CFP$250,000Team wins the SEC Championship Game$250,000
Should the school decide to fire Elko without cause prior to the end of the contract, he would be owed 100% of the remaining base salary through the third-to-last year of the contract, plus 85% of the base salary of the final two years of the contract. However, if the Aggies win a College Football Playoff national championship at any point in the contract term, Elko’s contract becomes fully guaranteed.
Should Elko decide to leave for another college job prior to the end of the contract, his buyout to the school begins at $12 million in the first year of the contract and drops to zero in the final year. However, if at any point in the contract term Elko decides to take any coaching position in the NFL, the buyout is $1 million. Should Alberts leave his post as Aggies’ athletic director, all buyouts owed by the coach are reduced by 50%.
Mike Elko buyout if coach terminates contractTerminates byPriceDec. 2, 2026$12,000,000Dec. 2, 2027$8,500,000Dec. 2, 2028$4,000,000Dec. 2, 2029$3,000,000Dec. 2, 2030$2,000,000Dec. 2, 2031$1,000,000Dec. 1, 2032$0*Buyout $1 million at any time if leaves for NFL coaching job
According to Elko’s previous contract, buyouts for firing without cause prior to the final three years of that contract consisted of 75% of the remaining base salary of the contract. Within the final three years, the percentage rose to 80%.
The modernization of Elko’s contract comes in the form of assistant coach and staff incentives and rules regarding name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation.
“It’s absolutely critical,” Elko said of the staff incentives in November. “I think one of the biggest things that we were able to get done was a bonus structure for the assistants that kind of married something similar to the bonus structure I had. One of the things that was not right was the bonus structure that I was going to receive, having qualified for the playoffs, that was not-on par what the assistants [would get] and, certainly, I am no more valuable to this team than they are.”
As previously reported, Elko negotiated escalating incentives for his assistant coaches, as well as a support staff bonus pool. If A&M wins eight or more games in a season, a minimum of $300,000 is added to the support staff bonus pool, which can be distributed to any of the football program’s non-contracted football staff. The pool will also increase by $300,000 if the team makes the College Football Playoff.
For contracted assistant coaches, a tiered system of incentives based on a percentage of the coach’s base salary has been instituted. Should A&M win a College Football Playoff national championship, assistant coaches will earn a bonus that is 30% of their base salary.
Assistant coach incentivesIncentivePaymentTeam appears in the SEC Championship Game4% of current annual base salaryTeam wins the SEC Championship Game8% of current annual base salaryTeam Qualifies for the CFP12% of annual base salaryTeam Participates in a CFP Quarter-Final Game or Wins the SEC Championship16% of current annual base salaryTeam Participates in a CFP Semi-Final Game20% of current annual base salaryTeam Participates in the CFP National Championship Game24% of current annual base salaryTeam Wins CFP National Championship30% of current annual base salary
Throughout the contract, strict adherence to the administrative power of the College Sports Commission (CSC) is prevalent.
As a part of the House v. NCAA antitrust case settlement, the CSC was created to oversee the proper implementation of revenue-sharing caps and evaluating true third-party NIL deals for compliance. As a part of the adoption of House settlement rules, athletic departments around the country were asked to sign a document accepting the rulings and punishments issued by the commission. Alberts was part of the committee that created the commission and has stressed national adherence to its authority.
However, other athletic departments have been hesitant to get on board with the CSC. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton went as far as to send out a letter last November to Texas universities, urging them not to sign the participation agreement.
“To protect the integrity of collegiate athletics, this power grab by the CSC must be stopped,” Paxton said in a statement. “No entity should be allowed to arbitrarily give itself the type of legal immunity CSC is pursuing, especially by putting colleges and universities in the crosshairs. I will stand shoulder to shoulder with any school working to change this agreement and call on State Attorneys General across the nation to work with their home universities to oppose what the CSC is trying to do.”
Elko’s contract requires the coach and the program to commit themselves to full compliance with the CSC, as well as the NCAA and the SEC. According to the contract, “University and Coach agree that compliance shall consist of and with any written legislation of the above-described organizations, and they also will strive to comply with the spirit and intent of such laws and regulations.” The contract stipulates that Elko “will cooperate fully with any investigation of any alleged violation” and “shall not take any actions to frustrate, impede or delay any such investigation or adjudication.” Elko is responsible for the cooperation of all of his staff and athletes in any investigations.
Finally, when it comes to the athletic department’s role in funding NIL compensation, as well as revenue sharing, negotiations for those budgets are laid out in the contract. Elko and the university will meet twice a year, preferably on Dec. 1 and June 1, to agree on a dollar amount. Should those negotiations not reach a resolution by June 30, the university can unilaterally determine the dollar amount.
All revenue sharing, NIL and staff bonus pool dollar amounts will remain competitive with other football programs in the SEC, according to the contract.
“[Elko] cares deeply about the people that touch the football program and I think it says a lot. I think about this a lot,” Alberts said in November. “The price of success will always be less than the price of failure, right? And so, if you believe you have the right people to lead, then you surround them with as much support and care as you possibly can. And I think Mike has the same philosophy.”
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