UCLA football coach Chip Kelly and his assistants will be well compensated this season
You want to win big at UCLA?
It’s going to cost you.
You want a mediocre program?
It’s still going to cost you.
Win or lose this season, the Bruins’ football coaches are going to make a school-record $9,854,700, according to records obtained by the Los Angeles Times. That includes coach Chip Kelly’s $5.6 million salary that came with a $1-million retention bonus he pocketed earlier this year for still being on the job at a time when he had gone 10-21 over his first three seasons.
Offensive and defensive coordinators Justin Frye and Jerry Azzinaro will make $700,000 apiece and Brian Norwood, the team’s defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator, will take home $500,000.
Inside linebackers coach Don Pellum and quarterbacks coach Ryan Gunderson will each make $400,000. Defensive line coach Johnny Nansen will make $368,000 after securing a $145,000 retention bonus and a $23,000 raise.
Tight ends and special teams coach Derek Sage will make $350,000. Running backs coach DeShaun Foster, who presides over arguably the most successful position group since Kelly’s arrival, will make $313,700 after getting a $23,300 raise earlier this year.
Outside linebackers coach Jason Kaufusi will make $273,300 and former UCLA quarterback Jerry Neuheisel will make $250,000 in his first season as the wide receivers coach after having been promoted from his role as a graduate assistant.
Each assistant coach can also make up to $100,000 in bonuses. An appearance in the Pac-12 championship game is worth $15,000; an appearance in any bowl game is worth $10,000; an appearance in a New Year's Six bowl game is worth $20,000; an appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinal is worth $10,000; an appearance in the College Football Playoff championship is worth $20,000; and a national championship is worth $25,000.
Kelly's bonuses could amount to as much as $1.085 million annually based on team performance and academic achievement, with the coach pocketing $10,000 starting with the team's sixth win in the regular season.
The number that UCLA fans want to avoid coming into play is Kelly’s $9-million buyout, which expires on Jan. 15, 2022.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
