Here are the details of Bronco Mendenhall’s proposed 6-year contract to coach at Utah State University

LOGAN – Former New Mexico head coach Bronco Mendenhall is now the head coach of the Utah State football team and was officially hired the morning after the University of Utah hired former BYU quarterback Jason Beck as offensive coordinator.

Try explaining that to someone before BYU took on Nebraska to open the 2015 season, which was Mendenhall’s final year as the Cougars’ head coach when Beck was his quarterbacks coach.

But the Aggies chose an accomplished college football coach with a strong defensive acumen to take jobs in Provo; Charlottesville, Va.; and even Albuquerque, New Mexico, in his only season with the Lobos.

Now he gets a chance to do the same at Utah State, which went 4-8 under interim coach Nate Dreiling – the Aggies’ fourth sub-.500 season in five years.

“My passion is developing young people and transforming football programs to reach their full potential,” said Mendenhall, whose announcement said the Alpine native would accompany his 93-year-old mother, Lenore, who still lives in northern Utah County. would be closer. “Utah State provides a great opportunity to do both and allows for a focus on family that is essential to me and Holly. We look forward to continuing to build on Utah State’s rich tradition and pursuit of football excellence.”

Mendenhall will take over a Utah State program geared toward the newly reconstructed Pac-12 in 2026. But how long will Mendenhall be the Aggies coach? Only time will tell, but details of his deal, which the university provided to KSL.com via a public records request, shed some light.

How long is Mendenhall’s contract with Utah State?

Mendenhall agreed to a six-year contract with Utah State that began Friday and runs through Jan. 31, 2031, according to the university’s offer sheet obtained by KSL.com.

As head coach of the Aggies, he will initially receive a salary of $2 million, which will increase by approximately $60,000 annually to up to $2.3 million through the sixth year of the contract.

He will also receive various industry-standard incentives, such as up to $20,000 if the team’s one-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) is 970 or higher; $25,000 for a conference championship or co-championship; $75,000 for an appearance at a bowl game outside of the College Football Playoff; and $125,000 for inclusion in the CFP.

As is standard with most in-state contracts, Mendenhall will receive $5,000 for each rivalry win against BYU or the University of Utah.

He also receives traditional benefits, including health insurance, use of a borrowed vehicle for “USU business purposes,” a membership to the Logan Golf and Country Club and up to 12 premium tickets to every Utah State football home game, plus eight such tickets for everyone Away games and four premium tickets for all home basketball games.

What about Mendenhall’s assistant coaches and staff?

Under the proposed contract, Utah State will provide an initial salary pool of $3.5 million in its first year for assistant coaches, operations and administrative positions on Mendenhall’s staff.

That pool will grow to $4 million in the second year, $5 million in the fourth year, and even $6 million when Mendenhall enters the sixth year of his contract. This salary pool also does not include the strength and conditioning staff and director of football operations, with athletic director Diana Sabau having final oversight over the allocation of resources from the assistant salary pool.

There’s a buyout, right?

As noted in the proposed contract, Utah State will pay up to $2 million to the University of New Mexico in 36 monthly installments beginning in January. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Mendenhall had just completed the first year of a five-year, $6 million contract last season.

The State of Utah is responsible for paying 100% of the cumulative remaining salary if the University terminates Mendenhall for convenience or no reason.

In the event that Mendenhall terminates his own employment before the end of the six-year contract for “convenience” — for example, to take another job — he will be required to pay $3 million in “liquidated damages” to the university with five years left on the term of his contract contract and $500,000 less for each additional year of his employment, up to just $500,000 in the sixth year of the current contract.

Half of the buyout would be paid to the school within 90 days, and the other half would be due within six months of his voluntary termination.

The contract was signed by both Sabau and Mendenhall and remains subject to standard checks, including a background check, before the long-term agreement is executed until March next year.