Jeff Tedford: Cal Football Coach’s University Of California Contract

Cal was soundly beaten by Oregon, 59 to 17, increasing calls for Cal Athletic Director Sandy Barbour to terminate Cal Football Head Coach Jeff Tedford.

What’s interesting, and yet typical of these cries is that they don’t include a look at Tedford’s revised contract with the University of California and what UC Regents refer to as “the Berkeley Campus.” In the interest of full disclosure, as they say, this blogger is not in favor of terminating Coach Tedford this year.

Look, this is Coach Tedford’s first really bad year. I don’t think he should be dumped for it. Rather, give him a set of additional numerical goals to achieve to stay in the job. The problem with Coach Tedford’s current contract is that it has no “floor” but it has a “ceiling.” In other words, we know what Coach Tedford gets for, say, winning the National Championship. But what does he get for a three-win season? A warning? The boot? It’s not in his contract, and it should be.

The Revised 2009 Jeff Tedford Contract In Summary

The basic summary of the Tedford contract is as follows:

1) Terminates in 2015
2) Has three payment categories which break down as follows: Base Pay, Talent Fee, and Deferred Compensation Plan, or “DCP.”
3) All would have to be paid in accordance with this part of the revised contract:

If the University terminates the contract early without cause, the campus will owe the base salary, retention bonus, and talent fee in amounts noted above, paid out in monthly installments, and any additional earned bonus income as set out by the contract. The University will not be responsible for paying unearned bonus/stipend income in this circumstance. If Mr. Tedford secures employment during this time, these payments will be reduced by such amounts.

Here’s the breakdown of the annual payments to Coach Tedford:

Year	Base Pay	Talent Fee	DCP	Total
2012	Paid	Paid	Paid	Paid
2013	$225,000.00	$1,575,000.00	$500,000.00	$2,300,000.00
2014	$225,000.00	$1,575,000.00	$500,000.00	$2,300,000.00
2015	$225,000.00	$1,575,000.00	$500,000.00	$2,300,000.00
Total				$6,900,000.00

Thus, if Coach Tedford were to be terminated after the 2012 NCAA Football Season, the remaining cost to the Cal Athletic Department would be $6.9 million. Coach Tedford’s contract stipulates the sources of funds:

The compensation provided under this contract is funded exclusively from
athletic department revenues and private fundraising and no State or
general campus funds are used in this arrangement.

Can the Athletic Department afford to do this from a political stand point? Paying $6.9 million to oust Coach Tedford would be particularly upsetting to those who worked so hard to save Cal Baseball. It would be almost impossible to explain such an expenditure when, just two years ago, the Athletic Director was forced to cut the total number of programs offered from 29 to 24.

The political ripple effects of such an expenditure are tremendous and not to be ignored. Ms. Barbour certainly doesn’t have the luxury of doing so. Of course, the anticipated per-school-revenue from the new Pac-12 TV contract can change things. Each college is expected to receive upwards of $30 million each per year over a 12-year term. While that money amount is not guaranteed, even at, say, $20 million per school, it gives Cal the cash needed to pay the remainder of Coach Tedford’s contract, and then hire another coach. (Which opens a new can of worms because who knows how well that person will do?)

The Revised Tedford Contract In Detail

The revised contract was announced February 5, 2009 at the UC Regents Meeting held in San Francisco.

Amendment to Contract Compensation for Jeff Tedford as Head Football Coach, Berkeley Campus

Approval of the following revised compensation terms for Head Coach of
Football, Jeff Tedford, Berkeley campus.
Mr. Tedford’s revised contract will be effective immediately and extend
through the 2015 season, an extension of two years beyond the current
agreement. Continuing from the current contract, these terms may be
extended one year for each season (including the bowl season) that the
University of California, Berkeley Football team wins nine games. Upon
such extension, all terms and conditions of the contract will remain in
place and unless otherwise agreed to in writing, the compensation will
remain as approved for the 2015 contract year.
The campus undertook negotiations with Mr. Tedford, to enhance and
extend his current contract when he was contacted by other universities to
fill their head coach position.
The following terms and conditions are reflected in the new proposed
contract:
a. Base Salary: There is no change to this element of Mr. Tedford’s
compensation:
01/01/08 – 12/31/08 $225,000 no increase
01/01/09 – 12/31/09 $225,000 no increase
01/01/10 – 12/31/10 $225,000 no increase
01/01/11 – 12/31/11 $225,000 no increase
01/01/12 – 12/31/12 $225,000 no increase
01/01/13 – 12/31/13 $225,000 no increase
01/01/14 – 12/31/14 $225,000 no increase
01/01/15 – 12/31/15 $225,000 no increase
b. Talent Fee: There is no change to Mr. Tedford’s annual talent fee,
except as noted in section 4, below, which could provide
potentially significant additional compensation to these amounts.
01/01/08 – 12/31/08 $1,575,000 no increase
01/01/09 – 12/31/09 $1,575,000 no increase
01/01/10 – 12/31/10 $1,575,000 no increase �
01/01/11 – 12/31/11 $1,575,000 no increase
01/01/12 – 12/31/12 $1,575,000 no increase
01/01/13 – 12/31/13 $1,575,000 no increase
01/01/14 – 12/31/14 $1,575,000 no increase
01/01/15 – 12/31/15 $1,575,000 no increase
c. Deferred Compensation: The revised contract eliminates what was
characterized as retention bonus payable in the following manner
under the old contract if the Coach met certain conditions:
$1,000,000 payable on January 8, 2009
$1,500,000 payable on January 8, 2012
$1,000,000 payable on January 8, 2014

The retention bonuses have been eliminated and replaced with the
following:
• UC will pay $500,000 as regular income to the Coach on
January 8, 2009.
• UC will contribute $500,000 on January 8, 2009 to the
Deferred Compensation Plan on behalf of the Coach.
• On January 8 of each subsequent year the Coach is
employed through the end of each season through 2015,
including post-season play, UC will contribute $500,000 to
the Deferred Compensation Plan on behalf of the Coach.
In the event Coach becomes unable to provide services described
in the contract and the contract is terminated, UC’s contribution to
the Deferred Compensation Plan will be a pro-rated amount based
on the termination date.
d. Additionally, this new contract provides opportunity to increase
Mr. Tedford’s talent fee by the amounts shown below, effective the
year following the accomplishment. The maximum escalation
over the length of the contract will be capped at $1,000,000. Any
escalated amounts will become additions to the talent fee in all
subsequent years of the contract.
Accomplishment Amount
National Championship
Team wins National Championship $1,000,000
(AP or Coaches’ Poll)
Team plays in National Championship $750,000 �
Post-Season Play
The highest of the following accomplishments would be paid:
Team wins the Pac-10 Championship $500,000
or participates in the Rose Bowl
Team participates in a BCS Bowl $400,000
other than the Rose Bowl, but does not win the Pac-10
Team ties for the Pac-10 Championship $250,000
but not selected for a BCS Bowl game
Team participates in the Holiday Bowl $ 60,000
Team participates in the Sun Bowl $ 40,000
Team participates in any other non-BCS bowl $ 30,000
Regular Season Achievements have not changed under the proposed
contract
Team wins nine games during the regular season $ 25,000
Coaching Achievements have not changed under the proposed contract
(The highest of the following:)
Coach is named National Coach of the Year; or $100,000
Coach is named Pac-10 Coach of the Year $ 50,000
Support of Educational Objectives
The new contract proposes increasing to $20,000 each (from $25,000
total) achieving an 80 percent graduation rate, 950 APR and a 2.8 GPA.
e. Other Incentive Pay has not changed from the previous contract.
Based on performance of Coach, annual non-base building bonus
as determined by the Athletic Director during Contract Year 1
(01/01/07-12/31/07) and Contract Years 4-5 (01/01/10-12/31/11):
$4,000 – $10,000
Based on performance of Coach, annual non-base building bonus
as determined by the Athletic Director during Contract Year 2 and
3 (01/01/08-12/31/08 and 01/01/09-12/31/09): $14,000 – $20,000
The Stadium Renovation Bonus remains unchanged from the
original contract as follows:
• Coach remains as Head Cal Football Coach until team fully
occupies the Simpson High Performance Center (amount
due within 30 calendar days following game): $250,000
• Coach remains as Head Cal Football Coach on the date
team plays its first home football game subsequent to the
completion of the West Side Improvements (amount due
within 30 calendar days following game): $250,000
Termination Clause:
This contract contains a penalty clause for early termination. If
Mr. Tedford terminates before the expiration of the agreement and before
the football program fully occupies the Student-Athlete High Performance
Center (SAHPC), he shall pay, within 30 days of leaving employment,
$150,000 for each contract year remaining in the agreement, inclusive of
the year he leaves. If Mr. Tedford terminates before the expiration of the
agreement and after the football program fully occupies the SAHPC, he
shall pay, within 30 days of leaving employment, $300,000 for each
contract year remaining in the agreement, inclusive of the year he leaves.
Furthermore, once the team fully occupies the Simpson High Performance
Center, Mr. Tedford agrees that he will not be employed by any Pac-10
school during the term of this contract.
If the University terminates the contract early without cause, the campus
will owe the base salary, retention bonus, and talent fee in amounts noted
above, paid out in monthly installments, and any additional earned bonus
income as set out by the contract. The University will not be responsible
for paying unearned bonus/stipend income in this circumstance. If Mr.
Tedford secures employment during this time, these payments will be
reduced by such amounts.
The maximum total potential payout under this contract occurs in year five
in the amount of $4,285,000. Payment of this amount is dependent upon
Mr. Tedford achieving all goals, including all those in the
“Accomplishments” section, above.
The compensation provided under this contract is funded exclusively from
athletic department revenues and private fundraising and no State or
general campus funds are used in this arrangement.
Additional elements of compensation currently provided and will continue
to be provided include:
• Per contract, 20 working days of vacation at the beginning of each
contract year. Coach may not have more than 40 working days of
accrued vacation leave at any time during the employment
contract. When 40 days of accrued vacation is reached, Coach will
cease to earn additional vacation leave until accrued vacation
balance is reduced to 20 working days.
• Per contract and policy, 12 days of sick leave during each twelvemonth period of the contract.
• Per policy, eligible for standard health and welfare benefits.
• Consistent with practice, two courtesy vehicles will be provided.
These courtesy vehicles may be withdrawn at any time at the sole
discretion of the Director-Intercollegiate Athletics.
• Country Club Membership with a value of approximately $7,080.
• Football Tickets – 30 season and 5 parking passes with a potential
value of approximately $10,000.
• In accordance with University policies and regulations governing
travel and subject to approval by the Athletic Director, University
will pay spouse travel for required events outside the San
Francisco Bay Area.
The compensation described above shall constitute the University’s total
commitment until modified by the Regents and shall supersede all
previous oral or written commitments. All compensation (as defined in the
Regents’ 1993 Principles for Review of Executive Compensation) in this
recommendation will be released to the public immediately following
approval by the Regents.

Stay tuned.