It didn’t take long for G.J. Kinne to warrant a salary raise and a contract extension from the Texas State Bobcats after the 35-year-old quickly turned a perennially underachieving program into a respectable contender. Texas State (8-5) finished with its best record since transitioning to the FBS ranks in 2012.
This cumulated in a 25% raise and a one-year extension on a restructured deal for Kinne, which he signed before winning the First Responders Bowl over the Rice Owls, 45-21. Now that the ink is dry on Kinne’s new deal, let’s examine his salary, contract length, and net worth as the Bobcats’ head coach.
G.J. Kinne’s Salary and Contract in 2024
Kinne’s initial guaranteed salary at Texas State was $800,000 on a five-year contract through 2027, signing nearly the same deal given to the previous coach, Jake Spavital. After restructuring his contract in Dec. 2023, he makes $1 million annually through 2028, tying him with Coastal Carolina’s Tim Beck for highest paid coach in the Sun Belt Conference.
“We’ve been impressed with his leadership and ability to quickly establish a culture that elevates the experience of our student-athletes,” Texas State AD Don Cornell said in the school’s announcement.
“From bringing in our best newcomer class ever to making our first bowl game to him earning attention from national awards, Coach Kinne has achieved a good amount in year one and this contract extension represents our belief in him to take us to the top of the Sun Belt Conference and beyond.”
There are opportunities for Kinne to increase his salary up to $700,000 annually and extend his contract one year at a time if certain benchmarks are met each season.
- If Texas State football wins eight or more regular season games, the guaranteed annual salary will increase by $100,000, and the contract will be extended by one year. This will only be awarded once during the length of the contract and is non-cumulative.
- If Texas State football wins the Sun Belt Conference Championship game, the guaranteed annual salary will increase by $200,000, and the contract will be extended by one year. This will only be awarded once during the length of the agreement and is non-cumulative.
- If Texas State is selected to participate in the College Football Playoffs, the guaranteed annual salary will increase by $500,000, and the contract will be extended by one year. This will only be awarded once during the length of the agreement. This increase to guaranteed annual salary is cumulative to any increases for regular season or conference title success.
- Other than an increase corresponding to a College Football Playoff selection (which shall be cumulative to all other achieved increases), if Kinne accomplishes more than one in a year, he will be awarded only the singular increase of the highest value.
- For example, if Kinne has already been awarded the $100,000 increase for winning eight regular season games in a prior year, the maximum he may be awarded as a guaranteed annual salary increase for winning the Sun Belt Conference Championship game in subsequent years is $100,000.
- At no time shall the term of this contract exceed five years.
- Additional one-year extensions under this contract shall not exceed three in number.
The contract further stipulates: The guaranteed annual salary increase will be capped at $200,000 over the life of this contract, with the exception of a guaranteed annual salary increase associated with a College Football Playoff appearance, which shall be in addition to all other listed increases.
The above increases, if any, and any extension of the contract term, if any, will take effect on December 15th following the achievement of the applicable criteria. The increases, if any, and the extension of the contract, if any, associated with a College Football Playoff selection, shall take effect no later than fifteen (15) days following such selection.
MORE: Top 10 Highest-Paid College Football Head Coaches
However, any additional year and increase to Coach’s guaranteed annual salary will not be factored into any liquidated damage calculations listed in Section 3.04 of this contract until January 15th immediately following the achievement of the applicable criteria.
To sum up all the contractual jargon, Kinne can trigger an increase in his salary by achieving eight wins ($100,000), a Sun Belt Championship ($200,000), regular season and/or a selection to the College Football Playoffs ($500,000). These can only be triggered once and won’t exceed a $700,000 increase if all three parameters are met.
This also triggers a one-year extension on the contract, but the one-year extension can’t be triggered than three times.
One of the more intriguing aspects of Kinne’s new deal is the buy-out. His previous deal had a 50% buy-out, which would be due to Kinne from Texas State if he is terminated, and vice versa if he resigns. His new deal has a 75% buy-out on a $5 million deal.
That means if one party were to dissolve the contract today, that side would owe the other around $3.75 million. If Kinne were to have another successful season this year and wanted to parlay that into a higher-paying coaching job, it would cost around $3 million to be paid to Texas State.
$3 million may seem like small potatoes in the larger scope of college football, but that is a good windfall of capital for programs like Texas State. While larger conferences have more lucrative television rights contracts, each Sun Belt team reportedly receives around $3 million annually from its deal with ESPN.
Losing a successful coach is hard on any program, but a nice chunk of change for a cash-strapped organization can somewhat ease the transition.
Kinne’s Net Worth
With a five-year contract at $1 million per year, Kinne’s net worth is at least $5 million. However, that figure doesn’t include any previously accrued earnings nor any of the aforementioned potential success-related base salary increases.
MORE: CFN 2024 Sun Belt Head Coach Rankings
It also doesn’t include any potential performance-related incentives. As is common in most college coach contracts, Kinne’s deal also features incentive-based bonuses for retention, performance, and academic standards.
Retention Bonus (NOT CUMULATIVE):
If Kinne is employed as Head Football Coach at Texas State on the below dates, the program will pay a retention bonus in the following amounts:
- Jan. 1, 2025: $50,000
- Jan. 1, 2026: $50,000
- Jan. 1, 2027: $50,000
- Jan. 1, 2028: $50,000
Annual Athletic Performance Incentives (CUMULATIVE):
- Sun Belt Conference Championship Appearance: $25,000
- Sun Belt Conference Champions: $50,000
- Bowl Game Appearance: $25,000
- Bowl Game Win: $50,000
- CFP Championship Appearance: $200,000
- Win Over Top 25 Opponent: $5,000
- Top 25 Final Ranking: $25,000
- Conference Coach of the Year: $10,000
- National Coach of the Year: $50,000
Annual Academic Performance Incentives (NOT CUMULATIVE):
- APR greater or equal to 960: $7,500
- APR greater or equal to 970: $10,000
- APR greater or equal to 985: $12,500
Miss any action from the top college QB Rankings during the 2023 football season? Want to track all the movement with the college football transfer portal? College Football Network has you covered with that and more!