On what was one of the wildest days college football fans have seen in a long time, the Auburn Tigers landed their new head coach on Sunday when they hired South Florida’s Alex Golesh as their new head of the program.
Auburn landed Golesh in the middle of a hectic coaching carousel cycle, and they’re hoping he’s the one to get them back to the promise land.
In today’s day and age of the sport, coaches are making more than ever before, and Golesh landed a six-year contract with the Tigers which on the base level, triples what he was making at South Florida. The most unique aspect of the deal however is the contract structure, and if Golesh does what those who hired him think he is capable of, he might just end up among the highest paid coaches in the sport.
Golesh is being paid a base salary of $6.75 million for his first season and this number will increase yearly up to $8 million by 2031, however he will have a chance to make much more than that if he wins.
According to a document obtained by Yellowhammer News, should he win nine regular season games, Golesh will receive a $1.5 million bonus, an additional $2 million for a 10th victory, plus another $1 million each for an 11th and 12th victory.
This means that if Golesh were to lead Auburn to an undefeated season, he would make more than $12 million for the season to be among the highest paid coaches in the nation.
Additionally, an SEC title game appearance pays him an additional $150,000, while a win brings in another $300,000.
Beyond this, Golesh would receive $1 million for a first round College Football Playoff appearance or bye, $250,000 for a quarter final appearance, $250,000 for a semi final appearance, $500,000 for a national title appearance and another $1 million on top of it all should he win a National Championship.
Interestingly, Golesh would get some bonuses for end of season ranking as well. $25,000 if the team finishes in the top-25, another $50,000 if he was named the SEC Coach of the Year, and another $75,000 should he be named the National Coach of the Year by any of the major award outlets.
Golesh is set to be compensated handsomely no matter what happens, but clearly, he is also choosing to bet on himself and his abilities to bring the Auburn program the kind of success that they have not seen in a very long time.
If he’s right, that bet is going to pay some absolutely massive dividends.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.

