With Eli Drinkwitz deciding to leave the Mountaineers after one season at the helm, App State decided back on December 13th to turn the program over to offensive line coach Shawn Clark.
Details of Clark's deal for his first head coaching job have now been shared, courtesy of the Watauga Democrat.
Clark signed a five year deal worth a base salary of $425,000 annually and it runs through December of 2024. Add in a monthly retention bonus (the article points out is $15k per month), and public appearance fees and Clark is scheduled to make approximately $750,000 in his first year, growing to $850,000 in year 5. Drinkwitz made $750,000 per USA Today's database.
Bonuses included in Clark's deal include; $25k for participating in a non-New Year's Six Bowl game ($15k for winning it), $50k for leading the team to a College Football Playoff game ($25k for winning it), and $50k for winning a national title.
App State has established themselves under two different head coaches now that they expect to compete for conference titles in the Sun Belt. A number of Clark's additional incentives reflect that in paying him $35k for winning the East division and playing in the conference title game, $50k for winning the conference title, and $25k if they win nine games or more in a season.
The salary pool for his assistant coaches will be $1.55 million. Previous head coach Eli Drinkwitz was given $1.35 million for his assistant salary pool.
If Clark decided to leave before Jan 1, 2021, he would owe the school a $5 million buyout, and that amount decreases to $3 million before January 2022, $1.5 million by the same time 2023, and then to $500k by 2024 and just $250k by January 2025.
If App State decides to fire Clark without cause, the buyout is the same as above, starting at $5 million and working down year by year.
Head here to read the full piece, including more contract details and perks.
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