Nebraska Football: Mike Riley Seeing Tidy Bonuses For Big Wins
Most Nebraska football fans know by now that head coach Mike Riley got a one-year extension back in August. What Cornhusker fans might not realize are the interesting little bonuses that were tucked away in that new agreement. While every college football coach has special little tidbits tucked away in their contracts, it’s clear Riley and Nebraska athletic director Shawn Eichorst was pretty thorough when looking at all the situations where the coach could earn some more cash.
As the Land of 10 points out, the biggest bonus for Riley is if the Nebraska football team wins the Big 10 Championship. Should the Huskers manage to win the conference title during this contract, Riley will get an extra $300,000. Considering the head coach’s base pay is $2.9 million, the bonus is an additional 10 percent of his salary.
That extra $300,000 is a tidy enough sum, but it’s really just the tip of the iceberg. The fact of the matter is that if the Nebraska football team has a successful enough season that they win the Big 10, their head man is in line for some serious cash. Playing out a couple of scenarios shows just how fat Riley’s wallet can get rather quickly.
Mike Riley on Nebraska football: ‘When they look at that video, they should be sick’ #Huskers https://t.co/eKzM4tQO3T pic.twitter.com/gX92ZIDA3g
— Land of 10 Nebraska (@Landof10Huskers) September 11, 2017
In order to win the conference title, the Cornhuskers are obviously going to have to first win the division. This will get Riley $200,000 before they even play the championship game. The Cornhuskers do both of those things; they’re obviously going to a bowl game and that’s another $150,000. Those numbers mean that while the $300,000 is laid out as his bonus, if Mike Riley wins the Big Ten Championship game, he’ll be earning nearly $1 million in bonuses.
Mike Riley has seen this show before: 42-14 Ducks before half. pic.twitter.com/Ed3Y1TQGyD
— Nick Krupke (@NickKrupke) September 9, 2017
It makes sense that if the Nebraska football team is indeed Big 10 champs, they’re likely headed to a top tier bowl game attached to the NCAA football playoffs. Should that happen, Riley gets another $250,000. Make the official semifinal game and he’s getting yet another $300,000. If he guides the team to the final he is awarded $350,000 and if he wins the whole thing, it’s another $650,000.
While a National Title seems out of reach these days, should the Huskers eventually reach that pinnacle, Riley will be rewarded big time. In total, the Huskers head coach has plenty of incentive to do his very best to turn the program around. Should they earn the title of best of the best, Mike Riley gets over $3 million in bonus cash, more than doubling his yearly pay.
[Featured Image by Eric Francis/Getty Images]
