Bonamego earns $25,000 retention payment, $56,000 in bonuses this season
Head football coach John Bonamego. (Central Michigan Life File Photo)
Head Football Coach John Bonamego earned a total of $56,000 in bonuses this season after being awarded his first $25,000 retention payment this week.
During the next three years, Bonamego's contract states that he will receive a $30,000 payment on Feb. 15, 2017, $50,000 on that date in 2018 and $50,000 in 2019.
Director of Athletics Dave Heeke said the retention payment was added to Bonamego's contract as a way to provide an incentive to build the program year by year and keep his salary competitive as the market changes.
“Those salary levels will continue to rise through the years,” Heeke said. “We want our football program to be successful. We want people to understand that we invest in the program to be successful. We don’t have a choice. Those are the costs of doing business.”
Bonamego will receive $538,000 this year.
He qualified for an additional $31,000 in bonuses this year, earning $6,000 for winning seven games, $10,000 for earning a share of this season's Mid-American Conference West Division Championship and $15,000 for competing in the Quick Lane Bowl. In addition to his $357,000 base salary, he receives $125,000 for television, radio and other promotional appearances.
According to 2015 salary information of the NCAA's Division I football head coaches, compiled by USA Today, Bonamego is the third-highest paid coach in the MAC. Ohio's Frank Solich ($562,760) and Western Michigan University's P.J. Fleck ($800,000) have the highest base salaries in the conference.
After being hired in February 2015, Bonamego said he planned on staying at CMU for years to come.
“I’ve wanted this job for a very long time. I plan to start and end my head coaching career here,” he said.
The cost of terminating the contract for Bonamego or Central Michigan is considerably higher than it was in former Head Coach Dan Enos' contract.
If Bonamego or CMU terminates the contract before the end of the 2016 regular season without stating a cause, the party is liable for $1 million.
If terminated before the end of the 2017 regular season, the cost is $575,000. For 2018, the number is set at $400,000 and for 2019, the cost is $200,000.
