Curt Cignetti and Indiana have agreed to new contract terms that will make him the second-highest paid coach in all of college football, sources confirm to TheHoosier.com.
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The new deal will remain through 2033, as previously agreed upon in October of 2025, as this new agreement will change only his salary – which will increase to an average of $13.2 million per year.
His previous average annual salary was $11.6 million, but per the contract extension from October, Indiana’s appearance in the College Football Playoff Semifinal triggered the “good faith review” clause.
This required Cignetti’s contract to be renegotiated to put him inside the top-three of head coach salaries. At $13.2 million, he’ll be the second-highest paid coach, only behind Georgia’s Kirby Smart at $13.29 million per year, but ahead of Ohio State’s Ryan Day at $12.5 million per year – making Cignetti the highest-paid head coach in the Big Ten.
Cignetti has gone 27-2 in his two seasons in Bloomington, with an 11-2 campaign in 2024 that featured a CFP berth, followed by a 16-0 national championship season in 2025. He won Indiana its first bowl game since 1991, first Rose Bowl in history, first Big Ten Championship Game ever, while each of his two seasons are the only two 10-win campaigns in program history.
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He’s turned Indiana from a perennial loser to a national champion, and it’s paid off for both him and the university. Should Indiana make the semifinals once again, the new salary will be renegotiated accordingly.
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