Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers beat Miami to win the 2025 national title. Nathan Ray Seebeck / Imagn Images
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is receiving a raise that will bump his annual average salary to $13.2 million — the highest in college football — after leading the Hoosiers to the school’s first football national championship last month, school sources told The Athletic on Friday.
In October, Cignetti agreed to a new eight-year contract that runs through 2033. The deal raised his annual salary to an average of $11.6 million, which would be the third-highest nationally in 2025. The contract said Indiana was required to make a “good faith” effort to ensure Cignetti remained in the top three nationally in salary if the Hoosiers reached the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Cignetti and the Hoosiers did better than that, winning the national championship by going through Alabama, Oregon and Miami in the CFP.
Georgia’s Kirby Smart’s average annual salary is $13 million, and LSU signed new head coach Lane Kiffin to a seven-year deal that will pay him about $13 million per year. Ohio State coach Ryan Day makes over $12 million annually.
Cignetti, 64, is 27-2 in two seasons since taking over what was at the time the losingest program in major college football history.
His contract with IU is fully guaranteed unless Cignetti is fired for cause. The deal calls for a $15 million buyout to Indiana if Cignetti were to leave for another school, up from $10 million in his previous deal, the person briefed on the details said. The buyout is halved if school president Pamela Whitten or athletic director Scott Dolson leaves Indiana.
In 2024, Cignetti received an eight-year contract through 2032 and a significant raise to $8.3 million amid a 10-0 start to the season.
Feb 20, 2026
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