Louisiana Tech and head football coach Sonny Cumbie have agreed on a new three-year contract worth $760,000 dollars a year.
The restructured deal only guarantees the first two years of the contract, with the guarantee on the third and final year of the agreement being triggered by at least six wins in 2026.
It’s a $155,000 annual pay cut for Cumbie, but Athletic Director Ryan Ivey said Cumbie could earn more per year if he reaches several different performance-based incentives.
“We’re going to reward success, and we believe Sonny can do that,” Ivey said. “He’s done a great job for us already. He’s brought our program back to postseason success and we’re certainly looking forward to that moving forward.”
Some of the bonus structure of the new contract includes:
- $50,000 for 5 conference wins OR $75,000 for 6 conference wins OR $100,000 for 7 or more conference wins
- $50,000 for conference title game appearance OR $100,000 for conference title game win
- $25,000 for a non-College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl game
- $50,000 for a non-CFP bowl win
- $100,000 for CFP appearance
- $200,000 for each CFP win OR $500,000 for qualifying for CFP semifinals or $750,000 for qualifying for CFP title game or $1,000,000 for CFP title game win
- $25,000 for each Power 4 win
- $50,000 for CUSA Coach of the Year award
- $100,000 for National Coach of the Year award
Ivey said the $155,0000 that are no longer part of Cumbie’s annual salary will go towards revenue sharing deals with the players, which will help with recruiting efforts and roster retention.
“You look at the current landscape that we find ourselves in, the ability for us to recruit and retain players is really important,” Ivey said. “In order to do that, quite honestly, we’ve got to be able to have some money to certainly compete with our competitive peers and so Sonny recognized that. I think he recognized the importance of really investing in our program and certainly our players and I think that speaks to his character as well.”
Cumbie is 19-and-31 at Tech and is coming off an 8-5 season with an Independence Bowl victory. Ivey said Cumbie’s reconstructed contract is more than just a financial move.
“I think it also will entice people to say, ‘Hey, look. I’m going to bet on myself,"” Ivey said. “And so now we’re giving them that opportunity to certainly do that.”