UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State's four-year bowl ban means an extra four years on head football coach Bill O’Brien's contract.
A document obtained on Wednesday by the Centre Daily Times shows the agreement was reached when O’Brien was hired in January to allow for a reaction to possible NCAA sanctions.
On Monday, the NCAA announced penalties for Penn State linked to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case that included a postseason ban of four years along with a loss of scholarships, vacating of wins after 1998 and a $60 million fine.
O’Brien, on ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning talk show on Wednesday, said the “addendum” automatically adds four years to what originally was a five-year deal.
The agreement, signed by O’Brien and interim athletics director David Joyner, reads: “Any sanction by the NCAA of a) loss of scholarships or b) bowl eligibility due to the actions of the previous staff or lack of institutional control prior to 2012 will immediately result in an automatic extension of coach's contract at 2016 total compensation and bonus package in years equal to the number of years of the sanctions.”
O’Brien’s five-year contract will pay him about $2.3 million per year, the CDT reported upon his hiring. That includes a base salary of $950,000 per year with a built-in 5 percent annual increase, plus $1 million annually from radio and television revenue and $350,000 from the school’s contract with Nike.
O’Brien spent the past five seasons with the New England Patriots as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
He previously coached 14 seasons in college, with stops at Georgia Tech, Maryland and Duke.
