Since his arrival in January 2021, Josh Heupel has steadily transformed the Tennessee Volunteers into a force in the Southeastern Conference, culminating in a trip to the College Football Playoff following an impressive 2024 campaign.
As a result, he’s become one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. But what is Heupel’s salary, contract, and net worth?
Josh Heupel’s Salary and Contract in 2024
After signing his intial deal in 2021, Tennessee head coach Heupel received a contract extension in 2023 that aims to keep him with the Volunteers through the 2028 college football season. As a result of that extension, Heupel’s salary in 2024 is $9 million.
The contract extension more than doubled Heupel’s pay from his original deal. In 2021, the Tennessee head coach earned $4 million before increasing to $5 million in 2022. His current salary makes him the 12th highest-paid head coach in college football and eighth highest-paid in the SEC.
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The former UCF Knights head coach boasts a 37-14 record as the Volunteers’ head coach. He delivered the first double-digit win season since 2007 when he led the Vols to an 11-2 campaign in 2022.
He repeated the feat in 2024, while Tennessee has ranked inside the top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings in two of his four seasons.
“The results over Josh’s first two seasons speak for themselves,” Director of Athletics Danny White said when announcing Heupel’s most recent contract extension. “He and his staff have energized both our football program and our fanbase with an aggressive brand of football, a competitive culture that creates leaders, and a relentless approach to raising the bar every single day.”
“Despite a brief period of dormancy, Tennessee never surrendered its status as a college football powerhouse,” White continued. “We just needed an innovative leader like Josh Heupel to reignite the spark.”
Tennessee appears happy with Heupel at the helm, but what if things go sour between the Vols and their head coach? Well, it would prove expensive for the program to fire him without cause. If he’s fired before Dec. 15, 2025, he would be owed 100% of his remaining salary. USA Today reports that amount is $37.5 million as of Dec. 1, 2024.
Heupel’s buyout drops down to 75% between Dec. 15, 2025, and Dec. 14, 2027. If he’s fired after that date, he will receive just 50% of his remaining salary. If Heupel wanted to leave to pursue a job elsewhere, he would currently have to pay $5 million, which decreases annually.
Josh Heupel’s Net Worth
With a five-year deal at $9 million a year, Heupel’s net worth is $45 million. However, that doesn’t include the $9 million he earned in his first two seasons with Tennessee. It also doesn’t include the $6.3 million he was paid by UCF and any of the salaries from assistant coaching spots across the country.
Furthermore, Heupel’s contract gives him the opportunity to bolster his salary with performance related bonuses. The known incentives are listed below:
- $100,000 for making a bowl game
- Up to $1 million for winning the national title
- $50,000 for finishing in the top 25
- $100,000 for finishing in the top 10
- $150,000 for finishing in the top 5
- Additional money for playing in the SEC title game, winning coach of the year, and team reaching certain academic progress rates
- Increased private jet usage
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