Penn State’s New Coach Lands Unbelievable Deal—Here’s How He Could Make Over $4 Million

It is believed that Jim Knowles’ base salary at Penn State already puts him atop the list of the highest paid assistants ever in college football, but a lucrative bonus structure could establish a high-water mark of more than $4 million for the Nittany Lions’ new defensive coordinator, sources with knowledge of the situation told CBS Sports.

For context, the average Power Four coordinator made $1.1 million in base pay last year, according to USA Today.

It is already public that Knowles will earn an average of $3.1 million in base pay annually during the three-year length of the arrangement. However, a complex and lucrative set of bonuses could net Knowles more than $1 million further if Penn State wins the national championship.

The bonuses work this way, per sources:

• 6% for reaching a bowl, or equivalent to $186,000 of $3.1 million.
• 8% for making the Big Ten Championship Game, or $248,000.
• 21% for making a College Football Playoff semifinal game, or $651,000.

If Penn State wins the national championship, the bowl bonus goes away. By winning the Big Ten and national championship, Knowles would get approximately 39% in bonuses. Combined, those bonuses would equal $1.209 million and Knowles’ total maximum compensation would be $4.2 million. That total would be more than 83 FBS head coaches, per that USA Today database.

Bonuses are common in coaching contracts, but in the competitive world of the sport at its highest level, Penn State apparently went to the top end of the market to land their man. The average salary for a Power Four coordinator increased 25% in four years  to that $1.1 million figure in 2024, according to USA Today. That number is higher than the average salary of a Group of Five head coach, per the newspaper, at $1.05 million.

The paper lists LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker as the nation’s highest paid assistant coach at $2.5 million per year. Knowles’ salary at Ohio State was listed third overall ($2.2 million). Knowles was one of six Ohio State assistants to make more than $1 million last season.