Breaking Down Florida Gators HC Bill Napier's Contract
Photo: Billy Napier's arrival in Gainesville, Fla.; Credit: Zach Goodall
The Florida Gators moved quickly to acquire their head coach and paid him quite nicely, making Billy Napier the fifth-highest paid coach in the Southeastern Conference.
Only Alabama’s Nick Saban ($9.75 million), Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher ($9 million), new LSU coach Brian Kelly ($8.6 million) and Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($7.13 million) are due to make more in the SEC next season.
Below is a breakdown of the most important pieces of Napier's seven-year deal with the Gators:
Contract terms
Seven-year contract, through Dec. 5, 2021, through Jan. 31, 2029. The contract terms state that Feb. 1 through Jan. 31 is deemed a "contract year."
Base Compensation Breakdown
2022 Contract Year (Execution date - Jan. 31, 2023) total annualized compensation of $7,100,000.
2023 Contract Year - $7,200,000 (Feb. 1, 2023 - Jan. 31, 2024)
2024 Contract Year - 7,300,000 (Feb. 1, 2024- Jan. 31, 2025)
2025 Contract Year - $7,400,000 (Feb. 1, 2025 - Jan. 31, 2026)
2026 Contract Year - $7,500,000 (Feb. 1, 2026 - Jan. 31, 2027)
2027 Contract Year - $7,600,000 (Feb. 1, 2027 - Jan. 31, 2028)
2028 Contract Year - $7,700,000 (Feb. 1, 2028 - Jan. 31, 2029)
Total base compensation: $51,800,000
Bonuses/Incentives
Napier will be eligible for performances bonuses up to a maximum of $1,500,000 each year. If there is a College Football Playoff expansion, the two parties will enter into good-faith negotiation for any modifications.
| League Champ Game<br> | Win League Champ<br> | Any Bowl Game<br> | Access/Big 6 Bowl Game (NY6)<br> | CFP Semi Final Game<br> | CFP Champ Game<br> | CFP Champion<br> | SEC COY<br> | Nat'l COY<br> | Top 10<br> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$125,000 | $250,000 | $100,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 | $750,000 | $1,000,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 |
Note: Napier will only be entitled to the largest sum of the categories for league championship and post-season bowl categories.
Assistant coach pool/recruiting and travel
Napier will be entitled to $7,500,000 anually for 10 full-time assistant football coaches. He will also have access to a salary pool of $5,000,000 annually for other football support staff members.
For recruiting and other travel, the coaching staff will have access to use of private air transportation for recruiting activities, professional development activities and appearances at high school clinics.
Napier will have access to the use of the UF/UAA aircraft available for business reasons and up to $70,000 in value for use of UAA aircraft annually for personal reasons.
Buyout
If terminated without cause by the UAA, UF is responsible for 85% of the total remaining Annual Compensation through the otherwise unexpired term, without any mitigation obligations incurred by Napier or offset rights attributed to UAA.
The payments would be made as follows: 50% paid within 30 days of termination, the remainder paid in equal installments (12.5%) over four years, with the first installment paid on the first July 15th following the termination and each July 15 thereafter until paid in full.
If Napier terminates the contract agreement without cause (except retirement from coaching), Napier will be responsible for the liquidated damages which scale down each season.
Year 1 (on or before Dec. 31, 2022), $7,000,000, Year 2, $5,000,000 (2023), Year 3, $3,000,000 (2024), Year 4, $2,000,000 (2025), Year 5, $1,500,000 (2026), Year 6, $1,000,000 (2027).
To acquire Napier's services from Louisianna-Lafayette, the Gators will pay his $3,000,000 buyout.
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