Tremaine Jackson Talks Revised Contract, Salary Increase for Prairie View A&M Coaching Staff

Prairie View A&M football coach Tremaine Jackson has secured a revised contract and salary increases for his coaching staff, a move signaling progress for the Panthers and their program.

Tremaine Jackson Talks Contract Increase | Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends

PRAIRIE VIEW, Tx — Prairie View A&M football coach Tremaine Jackson has secured a revised contract and salary increases for his coaching staff, a move signaling progress for the Panthers and their program, according to a report by Chris Hummer and CBS Sports writers.

Coach Jackson confirmed with HBCU Legends that his amended contract includes a significant increase for his coaching staff, a move he believes strengthens the program’s ability to stay competitive in the FCS ranks. Jackson said the raise was not about personal gain, but about rewarding assistants who helped the Panthers win and building a more sustainable program.

“I never got into this deal for myself,” Jackson said. “We never did it for money. I haven’t done it for free. But these coaches, man, to be able to increase the salary pool and give these guys what I believe they deserve for what FCS programs have today, that was really big for me.”

Jackson said the staff increase resulted from months of negotiations with Prairie View A&M athletic director Anton Golf, his agent, and university leaders. Both sides revised terms until they reached a mutual agreement.

Tremaine Jackson and Staff to receive contract increase | Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends on SI

“We got to the table and went back and forth and made it make sense for both parties,” Jackson said. “Really grateful for the things that they’ve done for us to make us competitive, consistently competitive.”

Jackson said timing was crucial because his team won last season under the same salary pool and scholarship structure as the previous staff. He said that model could not ensure long-term success given revenue sharing and NIL changes.

“Last year we won with the same salary pool, for the most part, as the previous staff, and the same scholarships with no rev share, no NIL,” Jackson said. “That’s not sustainable.”

He said staff increases range from about 25% to 30%. Jackson noted the raise is especially important for assistants facing rising living costs in Houston.

“I think being an assistant coach myself and living in Houston, knowing the cost of living, knowing how things are going up, homes, this Hwy 290 corridor is the fastest growing area in the state of Texas,” Jackson said. “We work hard, man, and to be able to know I can go get something to eat and I ain’t got to worry about whether getting something to eat is gonna stop me from paying a light bill or something like that.”

Jackson said he believes hard work and success should not come with constant financial struggle, and he said he pushed for his staff to be rewarded for the work they have already done.

“I don’t think people should work hard, be successful, and struggle,” Jackson said. “Those three things don’t go together.”

He said the deal also reflects trust between him and Golf, who Jackson said promised when he was hired that if he produced results, the university would revisit the contract.

“When I took the job here, AD Golf told me, ‘If you come here and do what you’re supposed to do, we’ll tear this one up and get a new one,’” Jackson said. “Man, that dude was a man of his word.”

Jackson said the raises also help keep Prairie View from losing assistant coaches to other programs. He said one assistant left for Missouri State and another took the offensive coordinator job at Valdosta State, but he expects the Panthers to retain more staff moving forward.

“This is probably started around Martin Luther King Day and then we were able to get it done last week or so,” Jackson said. “Patience was required on both sides.”

The Deal in Context and Impact

Jackson said the raises are more than a morale boost; he views them as a step toward making Prairie View A&M “elite,” the standard he said the program set when he arrived. He also said many of the assistants who came with him from Valdosta State were underpaid relative to the market and are now being rewarded at a much higher level.

“Those guys that took a chance and came with me, now they’ve been rewarded drastically compared to what we all made if I lost the state,” Jackson said.

The coach said the staff increase should make life easier for assistants, helping them balance family, work, and the rising cost of living in Texas. He even joked that the increase would help married coaches make their wives happy and single coaches, too.