CLEMSON — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney and his staff earned bonuses from the 2023 season, thanks to their players’ diligence off the field.
At athletic director Graham Neff’s discretion, Tigers football coaches will share $100,000 after it was announced Tuesday that Swinney’s team had a near perfect academic progress rate (APR) score. APR is a real-time measure of eligibility and retention of student-athletes competing on every Division I sports team.
Clemson football players scored 997 out of 1,000, and coaches share the bonus money if the team scores 975 or greater.
Swinney is 170-43 over 16 seasons as Clemson’s head coach and has won eight ACC championships and three College Football Playoff (CFP) titles.
What bonuses did Dabo Swinney earn in 2023 season?
Swinney’s biggest bonus was $75,000 for making a non-CFP bowl game with eight-plus regular-season wins. Clemson finished with a 9-4 record last season and played against Kentucky in the Gator Bowl.
Since the Tigers missed the ACC championship, College Football Playoff and New Year’s non-CFP semifinal bowl games, the 16-year Tigers coach missed out on more bonus money.
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What is Dabo Swinney’s contract, salary?
Swinney signed his 10-year, $115 million deal with Clemson in September 2022, and it runs through 2031. He made $10.9 million for the 2023 college football season, which was the second highest in the sport, behind only then-Alabama coach Nick Saban ($11.4 million).
Tigers assistants received raises during the past two years, too. Notably, defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin’s salary increased from $550,000 to $1.4 million, and defensive tackles coach Nick Eason received a $300,000 raise that pushed his salary to $1.1 million in February.
Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley agreed to a three-year deal worth $1.75 million annually when he was hired in January 2023. He became the highest-compensated assistant coach in the FBS last year thanks to a $300,000 signing bonus that pushed his earnings to $2.05 million.
Clemson football’s 2024 coaches salaries
- Dabo Swinney, head coach, $11 million
- Garrett Riley, offensive coordinator, $1.75 million
- Wes Goodwin, defensive coordinator, $1.1 million
- Nick Eason, defensive tackles, $1.1 million
- Matt Luke, offensive line, $975,000
- Chris Rumph, defensive ends, $950,000
- Mickey Conn, safeties, $900,000
- Mike Reed, cornerbacks, $900,000
- Kyle Richardson, tight ends, $600,000
- Tyler Grisham, wide receivers, $550,000
- C.J. Spiller, running backs, $550,000
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00