Incentives included in Locksley deal
Coach can supplement his salary by reaching bowl games, earning awards
New Maryland football coach Michael Locksley stands to make up to an additional $775,000 annually on top of the $2.5 million he will receive in base salary and guaranteed supplemental income should he turn the Terps into national championship contenders, according to a copy of his memorandum of understanding obtained by The Baltimore Sun in a public-records request.
Along with the $500,000 in base salary and the $2 million in supplemental income — as well as an additional $100,000 for the second through fifth years of the five-year deal he signed — Locksley has several performance-based incentives attached to the contract.
According to the memorandumof understanding, Locksley will receive $100,000 for participating in the Big Ten championship game and an additional $50,000 should the Terps win the game.
Locksley would also receive up to $300,000 total for bowl game appearances: $50,000 for a non-College Football Playoff bowl appearance; $100,000 for Maryland playing in one of six New Year’s Day games; $200,000 for reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals and the maximum $300,000 for playing in the national championship game.
If the Terps win their non-College Football Playoff bowl game, Locksley wound earn an extra $35,000. For his team winning a New Year’s Day Six bowl game, Locksley would get $75,000. For winning a College Football Playoff semifinal, he would earn an added $100,000 and another $250,000 for winning the national championship game.
In terms of individual awards, Locksley would get paid a maximum of $75,000, including $50,000 should he be named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year and another $25,000 for being the Big Ten Coach of the Year.
On top of the salary and the potential income from the bonuses, Locksley receives access to his own suite at Maryland Stadium, 24 regular-season tickets for each home and away game, with the same number for a bowl game; four season tickets for men’s basketball games; and four season tickets for women’s basketball games. He also gets two VIP parking passes for Maryland Stadium and one VIP pass for other campus venues where applicable.
Locksley also received up to $30,000 for moving expenses, along with provisions up to 30 days of temporary housing. He will get a monthly auto allowance of $1,500. Locksley’s family, including his wife, Kia, and their three children, will be part of Maryland’s official traveling party for away games.
If Locksley’s contract is terminated without cause — as former coach DJ Durkin’s deal was Oct. 31 — he will receive 65 percent of the guaranteed compensation from the day of the termination through the end of the contract. If Locksley leaves for another job, he would have to pay the university 45 percent of his guaranteed compensation remaining in the first two years, $1.5 million if he is fired in years three or four, and $500,000 after the end of the fourth regular season, even if the Terps are in a conference title game.
According to a copy of Durkin’s contract, he was owed around $5.1 million when he was fired. The contract he signed after the 2015 season and the one Locksley has agreed to are similar in base salary and supplemental income — Durkin received a base salary of $500,000 and $1.9 million in supplemental annual income — but Locksley’s performance-based incentives are higher across the board than Durkin’s.
Durkin would have received only $50,000 for making the Big Ten championship game and only $100,000 for winning it. His maximum compensation for bowl participation was $100,000 less than Locksley, though his maximum earnings for winning bowl games were the same as Locksley, as was his compensation for postseason coaching awards.
If Locksley is fired with cause — with those conditions still to be negotiated — Maryland does not have to pay him anything after the date of termination. According to the contract, Locksley will report directly to athletic director Damon Evans and will meet with Evans to discuss the state of the program after each season.
The memorandum of understanding will serve as Locksley’s contract if a formal contract is not signed within 60 days after he and Evans agreed Dec. 7 to the terms.