Tennessee coach Josh Elander. Photo by Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee baseball is in a new era as longtime assistant coach Josh Elander takes over as the 26th head coach in program history.

Elander signed a five-year, $5 million contract on Saturday afternoon that made him the program’s new head coach. Here’s further details about the contract.

How Elander’s Contract Compares To His Assistant Coach Contract, Vitello’s Contract

Tennessee will pay its new baseball coach $1 million annually which is a serious discount compared to the $3 million it paid Tony Vitello last season and was set to pay Vitello again this coming season. It will be interesting to see how much of the savings on the contract will be poured back into the baseball program in other ways.

While Elander is making significantly less than Vitello was, he is making double more than what Vitello made in his first contract. Vitello’s initial salary was $493,000 at Tennessee.

It’s also a substantial raise for Elander, who made $485,000 last season as Tennessee’s associate head coach.

Buyout Details

It’s a very friendly buyout for Tennessee. If the Vols decide to fire Elander without cause, they’ll just owe him 25% of his remaining contract. For instance, if Tennessee fired Elander after the 2028 season, they would owe him just $500,000 for the final $2 million remaining on the contract.

On the flip side, Elander just owes Tennessee 25% of his remaining contract if he leaves for another job in college baseball or professional baseball.

More Fro RTI: Everything Tennessee HC Josh Elander Said In Introductory Press Conference
Bonus Structure

Elander has a similar bonus structure to Vitello’s final Tennessee contract though the number amounts are smaller.

Team makes the SEC Tournament — $20,000
Team appears in the NCAA Regionals — $40,000
Host NCAA Regionals — $80,000
Super regionals appearance — $100,000
Host super regionals — $120,000
Appearance in the College World Series — $140,000
Appearance in the College World Series Championship Series — $160,000
NCAA College World Series Champion — $200,000

It’s unclear whether Elander only gets the highest bonus amount from this list or whether he can earn each individually. The wording indicates he can earn each separately but that is not consistent with Vitello’s last contract or most Tennessee coaching contracts.

Ironically, every single team makes the SEC Tournament which would guarantee a $20,000 at the very least.

Separate from that list, Tennessee owes Elander a $5,000 bonus if he earns SEC Coach of the Year honors. They owe Elander $10,000 for National Coach of the year honors from either the ABCA, D1Baseball or Baseball America.

Tennessee owes Elander $25,000 for a single year team APR exceeding the national average single-year APR for baseball in the same year.

A Few Other Perks

Tennessee will pay Elander an $850 monthly allowance for a car or one vehicle of quality similar to vehicles provided to other University head coaches.

They will also provide him four season tickets for baseball, six season tickets for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.

Elander will receive an annual allotment of $2,000 with the school’s apparel applier. For now that is Nike, but that changes to Adidas starting next summer.