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Charles Huff contract details on Memphis football coach's 5-year, $10 million deal
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- Charles Huff contract details on Memphis football coach's 5-year, $10 million deal
Charles Huff signed a five-year, $10 million deal to be Memphis football's head coach , according to a Memorandum of Understanding he signed on Dec. 7.
Huff is set to make $1.8 million during his first year as coach, $1.9 million his second year, $2 million his third year, $2.1 million his fourth year and $2.2 million his fifth year. While the MOU is not a formal contract, it does lay out a few important aspects of Huff's agreement with the university.
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Memphis hired Huff just over a week after former coach Ryan Silverfield left for Arkansas. While Huff will make less than Silverfield made, Huff is also set to make more than double what he was making at Southern Miss.
Here are some details.
Charles Huff buyout at Memphis football
If Memphis fires Huff without cause, it will have to pay him 75 percent of the money left on the deal. For example, that would be $7.5 million when the deal still has $10 million remaining on it.
Huff would have a duty to mitigate if he's fired. That means he'd be required to look for another job, and any money he received from that job would offset the buyout. That's a clause that administrators often put in coach contracts.
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If Huff leaves Memphis, he'd be responsible for a separation payment. That money goes down each year.
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If Huff leaves before the end of his first year, he'd owe $4.5 million
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If Huff leaves before the end of his second year, he'd owe $3.5 million
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If Huff leaves before the end of his third year, he'd owe $1.5 million
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If Huff leaves before the end of this fourth year, he'd owe $750,000
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If Huff leaves before the end of this fifth year, he'd owe $250,000
Does Charles Huff's contract have an automatic extension clause?
Silverfield's contract — which was negotiated by previous Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch and not current athletic director Ed Scott — had a clause that automatically extended Silverfield's term by a year if he won nine regular-season games in a season. It also would have extended the term by two years if Silverfield had won 10 regular-season games and reached the conference title game.
While Huff's MOU is not a full-length contract, there's nothing in there about an automatic term extension.
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How Charles Huff's contract compares to Ryan Silverfield's at Memphis
Silverfield was set to make $2.5 million in 2026 under the terms of his deal. His contract was set to expire at the end of the 2029 season. Silverfield's contract was initially a five-year deal when he signed it ahead of the 2024 season, but it was extended by a year because the Tigers won more than nine games that season.
Silverfield's assistant salary pool was set at $4.35 million for the 2026 season, according to his contract. Huff's assistant salary pool will be $4.4 million and will rise by $100,000 each year.
Incentive pay for Charles Huff
There are several ways Huff can earn extra incentive money.
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$25,000 if Memphis beats a power conference team (this goes away if Memphis gets into a power conference)
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$25,000 if Memphis wins eight (regular season) games in a season
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$50,000 if Memphis wins nine (regular season) games in a season
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$75,000 if Memphis wins 10 (regular season) games in a season
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$100,000 if Memphis wins 11 (regular season) games in a season
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$125,000 if Memphis wins 12 (regular season) games in a season
Those bonuses will be cumulative.
Huff will also earn $50,000 if Memphis plays in the conference championship and $100,000 if Memphis wins the conference title. He'll also earn $25,000 if Memphis makes a bowl game and $50,000 if the Tigers win a bowl game. He also earns progressively more if Memphis makes the College Football Playoff, with the highest potential bonus at $500,000 if Memphis wins the national title.
He also earns $50,000 if he wins conference coach of the year and/or national coach of the year.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Charles Huff contract: Memphis football coach's salary details
