Sam Pittman agrees to incentive-laden contract with Arkansas
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FAYETTEVILLE — Sam Pittman is the lowest paid head coach in the SEC, but his agreement with Arkansas is laden with incentives.
The 58-year-old former assistant coach will receive a five-year deal worth $3 million annually from the Razorbacks, according to a copy of his offer letter obtained by HawgBeat via a public records request.
That puts him below Joe Moorhead’s $3.05 million contract at Mississippi State as the smallest in the conference, according to USA Today’s salary database. Fellow new SEC coaches Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss and Eliah Drinkwitz at Missouri will reportedly be paid in the $4 million range.
However, Pittman could make more than that if he turns the Razorbacks around. Winning six games comes with a $250,000 raise, a seven-win season comes with a $500,000 raise and an eight-win season comes with a $750,000 raise. Those increases are non-cumulative.
In addition to receiving a bonus for making a bowl game - $100,000 for a Tier 3 bowl, $150,000 for a Tier 2 bowl and $200,000 for a CFP bowl - Pittman can receive a pair of one-year extensions. That means his deal could be seven years if he reaches two bowl games.
Other incentives include $500,000 for an appearance in the national championship game and $1 million for winning a national title. An appearance in the SEC Championship Game would earn him $100,000, while a win in that game increases the bonus too $250,000.
Pittman could also earn $25,000 or $50,000 by being named SEC or NCAA Coach of the Year, respectively, as well as $12,500 or $25,000 by graduating 80 or 90 percent of his student-athletes, respectively.
Another interesting aspect of Pittman’s agreement with Arkansas is his buyout. If terminated for convenience, he would be owed 75 percent of his remaining contract - similar to Chad Morris’ buyout - if he’s won at least half of his games at the time of his firing. If he has a losing record, though, the buyout drops to 50 percent of his remaining contract.
That is a step toward athletics director Hunter Yurachek's goal of on-field performance being a factor in lowering or eliminating a buyout.
Much like Morris, Pittman's buyout includes a stipulation that he must seek “comparable full-time, paid employment…at a rate of compensation not less than market value and consistent with compensation rates for similar positions in the industry.” That compensation would offset the buyout.
On the flip side, if Pittman decides to terminate the agreement for convenience - meaning leave on his own - by Dec. 1, 2021, he’d owe Arkansas $6 million. That drops to $3 million if he leaves between Dec. 2, 2021, and Dec. 1, 2022, and then to $1.5 million after that point.
A final employment agreement is expected to be signed within the next 90 days.