Tennessee coach Josh Heupel has received a contract extension and $1 million raise that will take his salary to $5 million annually, according to school officials.
Heupel, in his second season at Tennessee, has guided the Vols to a 2-0 start and No. 15 ranking in the AP poll. His new deal will extend one year through Jan. 31, 2028, and his buyout is $8 million if he leaves for another job before Dec. 15, 2023, and drops $2 million a year after that date.
He remains among the lowest-paid head football coaches in the SEC. Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz ($4 million) and South Carolina’s Shane Beamer ($2.75 million) both make less. Vanderbilt is a private institution and does not release coaching salaries, but sources told ESPN that Clark Lea makes around $3.75 million.
The Vols went 7-6 a year ago in Heupel’s first season. He inherited a program that had finished 3-7 the year before he was hired. Tennessee received a notice from the NCAA in July alleging 18 Level I violations occurred under former coach Jeremy Pruitt and the previous staff. Tennessee has already self-imposed some penalties, including scholarship reductions.
When he was hired in 2021, Heupel became Tennessee’s fourth head coach in 10 years. The Vols have not won more than eight games in the regular season since 2007, Phillip Fulmer’s next-to-last season.
Tennessee also beefed up the salaries of Heupel’s coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Alex Golesh received the biggest raise, going from $750,000 to $1.2 million.