Illinois would've paid Lovie Smith $12 million if they fired him after last season, his third as Illini head coach. That buyout plummets after the 2019 season and beyond.
MORE: Taggart's Buyout Details
MORE: Pruitt's Buyout Details
Smith signed a six-year deal in late 2015 when he arrived in Champaign in March 2016, two months after his dismissal as Tampa Buccaneers' head coach and three years after he left the state of Illinois as the fired Chicago Bears' head coach. His original deal, which called for $21 million over six years (2016-21), was revised at the end of last season after he led Illinois to four wins, his most in three seasons. The new deal added two years (2022-23) and reduced his buyout in the final years of the contract.
Smith's annual base salary doesn't change over the five remaining years ($4 million), nor do the bonuses, among them:
Big Ten Championship appearance: $50,000
Big Ten Championship: $100,000
Big Ten Coach of the Year: $50,000
National Coach of the Year: $75,000
Playoff appearance: $200,000
Playoff semifinal win: $125,000
National championship: $200,000
His buyout for the next two years also doesn't change. However, the buyout over the final two years dropped to a flat $1 million.
After 2019: $4 million
2020: $2 million
2021: $1 million
2022: $1 million
