The University of Maryland will pay new associate head football coach Mike London $300,000 next season, in the first year of a two-year agreement to join DJ Durkin's staff. London is owed a $2.7 million buyout next year from his previous employer, the University of Virginia, where he was the head coach for the last six seasons.
According to a memorandum of understanding obtained by Testudo Times through a state records request, London's total compensation for his two-year contract with Maryland is $800,000. He'll make just $100,000 in base salary and $200,000 in "supplemental income" for the 2016 season, with those rates jumping to $350,000 and $150,000 in 2017.
It isn't clear from Virginia's official release when London resigned earlier this winter what the terms of his negotiated buyout were, beyond that it was worth $2.7 million. These agreements often come with contract offsets for future employers, in which case London would be owed $2.4 million – or 89 percent of his salary next year – by Virginia. Either way, he'll collect far more from Virginia than from Maryland.
Importantly for Maryland, London's deal includes a provision that Maryland won't owe him anything if he leaves for another coaching opportunity. If Maryland terminates London "without cause" – i.e., fires him for poor performance – the university will still owe him his base pay installments.
London's deal includes several performance bonuses, which could total up to $65,000 per season:
- $20,000 for winning the Big Ten championship game, or $10,000 for losing it.
- $10,000 for playing in a non-College Football Playoff bowl game, or $15,000 for a Playoff semifinal appearance, or $25,000 for a Playoff final appearance.
- $5,000 for winning a non-Playoff Bowl game, or up to $20,000 for winning the national championship.
The full MOU between London and Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson is below: