Kansas OC Andy Kotelnicki has a new contract. Here’s his salary, buyout and more...
After an impressive season scripting the Jayhawks’ offense, Kansas offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki earned himself a pay raise. In fact, his salary has now doubled what it was when he first signed on in Lawrence.
Kotelnicki signed a contract extension in December that adds four years to his current deal, keeping him in Lawrence until February 2028 (through the 2027 season).
For Kotelnicki, it was an easy choice.
“It’s exciting. … I think that it illustrates and what I hope people see is that this place so desperately needed some consistency,” Kotelnicki said in December. “For an administration and a coach to recognize that and basically value me being around enough to do that for as long as (they did) should indicate (what) everyone believes about this program.
Here are five things to know about Kotelnicki’s new deal, which was obtained by The Star.
Salary and retention bonus
Kotelnicki signed a five-year deal (a four-year extension of the previous contract) worth $1 million per year with an extra $100K retention bonus for each year he finishes. If he were to leave to become an FBS or FCS head coach, he would keep that bonus — provided he left after the Big 12 championship game.
However, the first full year of the deal is worth an additional $250K, as Kotelnicki finishes out the rest of his current contracted season.
If he stays at KU through the next five seasons, Kotelnicki will be paid a total of $5.75 million ($1.1 million on average, plus a one-time $250K payment to finish out this year), and that’s without any incentives.
Kotelnicki was previously making $500K annually.
Buyout clauses
Kotelnicki hasn’t been shy about his aspirations to be a head coach one day. It’s something both head coach Lance Leipold and KU know, so it’s no surprise that’s a factor in his contract.
Specifically, Kotelnicki has no buyout for taking an FBS or FCS head coaching job. If Kotelnicki wants to become an “NFL coach” (head coach is not specified in the contract), his buyout is $700K in Years 1 and 2 only. After that, there is no buyout.
Year 3 begins on March 1, 2025 (after the 2024 season).
If Kotelnicki leaves for a non-head-coaching job at a non-B12 program, his buyout is $700K in Years 1-2 and $500K in Years 3-5.
Otherwise, if Kotelnicki were to depart, he would owe KU 50% of the remaining amount due to him under the term of the agreement. So, for example, if Kotelnicki left to be the offensive coordinator at another Big 12 program midway through his deal, he’d be on the hook for around $2.5 million.
The Leipold clause
Kotelnicki has a special provision in his contract that ties him to Leipold.
He and Leipold first coached together at Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2013 and have been together since.
If KU does not employ Leipold, Kotelnicki has the right to terminate his contract and reduce his buyout by 50%.
Leipold has a similar provision in his contract. In Leipold’s contract extension, there was a clause that noted his buyout would be cut in half if KU athletic director Travis Goff was no longer in office.
What if he’s fired?
KU can fire Kotelnicki without cause at any time but will have to pay Kotelnicki 70% of his remaining contract.
If Kotelnicki is fired for cause, KU Athletics would not have to pay that amount. Additionally, in that case, if KU or the NCAA vacate any program achievements as a result of “rules violations committed directly by” Kotelnicki (as determined by KU Athletics, KU or the NCAA), Kotelnicki must pay back all incentive-based rewards.
Incentives
Kotelnicki has multiple success-based bonuses in his contract. Here’s a look at the incentives, which are non-cumulative and based on total salary.
- Selected for any bowl game: 7.5% — which would be $75,000 based on a $1 million salary
- NY6 (non-CFB playoff): 15% — $150,000 out of $1 million
- CFB playoff: 20% — $200,00 out of $1 million
- National Championship win: 25% — $250,000 out of $1 million
Kotelnicki also gets an additional 5% bonus ($50,000 out of $1 million) if KU makes (and he coaches in) the Big 12 title game. In his new extension, he also gets the following bonuses depending on the number of wins KU achieves: $25,000 for seven wins and $50,000 for eight.
This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Kansas OC Andy Kotelnicki has a new contract. Here’s his salary, buyout and more...."
