New Maryland head football coach DJ Durkin's five-year contract with the university automatically becomes a six-year deal if he stays in his post through the end of next season, according to a memorandum of understanding obtained by Testudo Times through a state public records request.
Durkin's contract also includes a percentage-rate buyout, according to the memorandum. If Maryland fires Durkin, it will owe him 65 percent of the remaining amount due on his contract. Half of that buyout would be paid out in a lump sum within two months of Durkin's termination "without cause," while the rest would come in regular installments until the end of Durkin's contract.
The contract also has a buyout from Durkin to Maryland, if he opts to leave the school before the deal is up. He'd owe Maryland $2 million if he left in his first or second year, $1 million if he left in the third or fourth year or $500,000 if he left Maryland after his fourth season on the job.
Maryland's public records office said it does hot have a copy of Durkin's full contract, but its basic financial terms and certain perks are laid out in the memorandum. Durkin will make $500,000 in base salary next season, with an addition $1.9 million coming his way in "supplemental income." He'll receive a $50,000 increase in supplemental payments in years two through five of the agreement. Those payments typically cover tasks like media and fundraising obligations.
Durkin's contract also includes a long list of incentives, according to the MOU, which could add up to $625,000 to Durkin's pay in a given season. Those include:
- $100,000 for winning the Big Ten's football championship game, or $50,000 for participating and losing.
- $200,000 for getting Maryland to a College Football Playoff championship game, or $150,000 for the national semifinal, or $75,000 for a non-Playoff New Year's Six bowl, or $25,000 for playing in a generic bowl. This is non-cumulative, so Durkin couldn't make more than $200,000 on it.
- $250,000 for winning the national championship through the College Football Playoff.
- $50,000 for being named the national coach of the year, and $25,000 for being named the Big Ten's.
You can view the memorandum of understanding – signed by Durkin, university president Wallace Loh and athletic director Kevin Anderson – below:
Maryland's memorandum of understanding with football coach DJ Durkin