Garrett Riley didn’t come cheap for Clemson.
The Tigers’ new offensive coordinator will make $1.75 million annually as a part of a three-year contract the school approved Friday. Riley, who oversaw the nation’s No. 9 scoring offense this season at TCU, will also receive a $300,000 signing bonus within 60 days of the start of his employment.
That’s just the start of the contract details for Riley, who’s now one of college football’s highest-paid assistants.
The contract, which runs through Jan. 31, 2026, calls for Riley to make an additional $50,000 for a top-10 relative offense or $100,000 for a top-5 relative offense nationally, according to a copy of the contract’s term sheet obtained by The Clemson Insider. In this scenario, relative offense — a metric used by the College Football Playoff selection committee to help evaluate teams for its rankings — refers to how Clemson’s offense performs compared to other offenses that faced the same defenses.
Riley would receive an additional $50,000 for a top-10 offense or $100,000 for a top-5 offense in the same season.
Other incentive bonuses are included for postseason accomplishments. Riley would receive $10,000 if Clemson appears in the ACC championship game. He would get an additional $20,000 for a bowl game berth with at least eight regular-season wins, $40,000 for a CFP non-semifinal berth, $50,000 for a CFP semifinal berth or $60,000 for a CFP title game appearance. Winning the national championship would earn Riley another $25,000.
A Broyles Award winner at just 33 years old, Riley is a fast riser in the coaching industry that could draw more interest in the future should his offenses continue to succeed big at Clemson. Should Riley take another assistant coaching job at the college or NFL level before his contract is up, he would owe Clemson 25% of the total compensation left on his deal unless the school decided to waive the buyout.
If Clemson terminates Riley without cause before the end of the contract, the school would owe him all of the total compensation remaining. That buyout would be mitigated if Riley landed another job during the contract period.
Photo credit: Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports
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