Following his success in turning the ‘losingest’ programme in college football into national champions, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti has received a raise from the school that will increase his annual salary to $13.2m.

According to unnamed sources quoted by The Athletic, the increase will make Cignetti the highest paid coach in college football as he jumps ahead of Georgia’s Kirby Smart and newly ordained LSU coach Lane Kiffin, both of whom are set to receive $13m per year.

Cignetti’s salary had already increased to an average $11.6m per year following the agreement of an eight-year contract in October 2026 which made him the third highest paid coach in the college game. Language included in that contract has now worked in Cignetti’s favour, as The Athletic reports Indiana was required to make a ‘good faith’ effort to ensure Cignetti remained top three nationally in salary ‘if the Hoosiers reached the College Football Playoff semifinals’.

Cignetti exceeded expectations on his side of the bargain by guiding the Hoosiers to a national title. Indiana honoured their side of the deal by not just keeping Cignetti in the top three, but by making him number one.

Cignetti’s eight-year contract runs through 2033 and is fully guaranteed unless he is fired with cause. The Athletic’s source claims that ‘the deal calls for a $15m buyout to Indiana if Cignetti were to leave for another school, up from $10m in his previous deal. Accordingly, the buyout is halved if school president Pamela Whitten or athletic director Scott Dolson leaves Indiana.

Cignetti has already become a living legend in Bloomington by bringing home the Natty. Hoosiers fans will dearly hope that he can maintain his current level of success for the next eight years and beyond, having only lost two games in his two-year Indiana tenure.