Southern Miss AD scores big pay raise and bonus incentives. What to know about his salary.
The University of Southern Mississippi announced a four-year extension for its Director of Athletics Jeremy McClain on Wednesday and the Sun Herald has obtained the details of the new contract.
McClain’s new deal will net him a base pay of $450,000, a raise from his previous $400,000 salary, according to the contract.
McClain, who had his $210,000 salary as athletic director at Troy University nearly doubled when he was hired by USM in 2019, also has several incentives he can reach to qualify for bonus pay.
If the Golden Eagles win a conference title in either football or basketball, McClain gets a $10,000 bonus. McClain will receive a $5,000 bonus if the school wins a conference title in any other sport.
McClain will also receive $10,000 if the football team qualifies for a bowl game and $5,000 if any sport receives an at-large bid to the NCAA postseason tournament.
There are also academic incentives ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, and several ticket sales incentives that would net McClain $10,000 each if certain goals are met, including a set donation bar of $8 million in private gifts.
The bonuses have a soft cap of $60,000 per year.
The new contract also comes with buyouts. If McClain leaves the school within the first 18 months of his contract, he will owe the school $275,000. If he leaves between months 19 and 36, he would owe $112,500.
However, there is a stipulation to McClain’s buyout clause. If McClain were to leave USM for the same job at a Power Five school, the buyout rates would be cut by 50 percent.
The contract was signed on February 14 and officially took effect on May 1. It runs through April, 2026.
In McClain’s tenure, he has hired Will Hall as football coach, continued renovation efforts of athletic facilities and guided the school into the Sun Belt Conference.
This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 10:59 AM.
