First Posted: 1/11/2015
Big money is on the line for the University of Oregon coaching staff tonight in terms of bonuses should it win a national title.
Such is not the case for the Urban Meyer and his gang at Ohio State.
A University of Oregon victory over Ohio State would see the Ducks coaching staff walk away with $1.38 million in bonuses for their performance in the first College Football Playoff, according to Bloomberg News, which filed an open records request for the employment contracts of coaches involved in the playoffs.
First year Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich will receive a $250,000 bonus if the Ducks win the national title. He already has earned a $25,000 bonus for Oregon’s win over Florida State, and prior to that, Helfrich received $575,000 in bonuses for winning the Pacific 12 Conference title and qualifying for the playoffs.
Helfrich’s assistants each earned a bonus of two months of salary for making the semifinals and have at least another six months of salary on the line depending on tonight’s results.
Ohio State doesn’t offer any bonuses for a title win, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
It boils down to the size of their programs.
OSU coaches receive larger guaranteed contracts, something the Buckeyes can do because of its $150 million athletics budget. Oregon has chosen to backload contracts with larger incentives, given its $90 million budget.
While Helfrich could make substantially more in bonuses than Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, Helfrich’s base pay is $1.8 million, which is less than half of the $4.5 million in guaranteed money that Meyer brings home. Meyer is one of the top five paid coaches in college football. Alabama’s Nick Saban, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Texas’ Charlie Strong and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin are all making at least $5 million annually.
“Over time, with schools seeing what other schools are doing, you’ll probably see some balancing out across the board,” Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told Bloomberg news. “But this is new, so people are doing what they could do to get their models in place.”
ROSES AND THORNS: A Lima doctor finds a special spot in the rose garden.
Rose: To Dr. Allen Bryant, of Lima. He and his wife, Marilyn, came upon an automobile accident and Bryant crawled into the backseat of the upside down vehicle to pull a 3-year-old child out of its car seat. Bryant held and comforted the child until a rescue unit arrived.
Rose: To Bath schools. Its new K-5 elementary school, which was dedicated on Sunday, was finished under budget.
Thorn: To James Reynold, 35, of Delphos. Police said he cut off his court-sanctioned ankle bracelet and twice left his home, both times returning to his house, where he demanded his wife give him more money.
Thorn: To Sedric D. Washington, 45, of Lima. He was found hiding under a porch after a police canine unit tracked him down following a break-in at the Dollar General store in Lima on Tuesday.
Thorn: A motorist fled on foot and eluded Shawnee and Lima police after he was involved in two hit-skip accidents. The first occurred at the corner of Eastown and Spencerville roads. He then drove away at a high rate of speed, eventually wrecking his vehicle at the corner of Adgate Road and Crayton Avenue.
PARTING SHOT: “I have yet to be in a game where luck was involved. Well-prepared players make plays. I have yet to be in a game where the most prepared team didn’t win.” — Urban Meyer, Ohio State football coach.
