The overall record is only 13-13 through two seasons, but there is no question that Jeff Brohm has transformed Purdue football. After inheriting a team that won only five games against FBS competition in four years he has at least made Purdue semi-relevant again:
- He has qualified for consecutive bowl games and even won one. The other... yeah.
- He has returned the Bucket to its rightful place in West Lafayette, going 2-0 against Indiana.
- In 2018 he beat three ranked teams when Purdue had not beaten a single ranked team since 2011.
- Oh yeah, boat racing Ohio State was fun too.
We’ve had to fend off Tennessee and Louisville to keep him, and that came with a price. The 2019 season is the first where his improved recruiting will begin to show dividends and the significant talent deficit will start to go away this year. Because we’re going to be so young (only 21 players as scholarship juniors & seniors) it could be another year with growing pains, but it will also be a year of building to big things in 2020 and 2021. With Brohm’s new contract he should be here to see that growth too:
The total value of Brohm’s new deal is $36.8 million over the seven years, which includes supplemental income, base salary, retention bonuses and the signing bonus.
Assuming Brohm remains Purdue’s coach through the 2019 season, he will earn $5.35 million in the first year of the deal. His compensation increases to $5.55 million during the 2020 season. In 2021, Brohm’s salary drops to $4.9 million but increases $200,000 the next season and $100,000 through the remainder of the contract, which ends in 2025.
A big portion of the next two seasons is a $1.7 million signing bonus paid out over 2019 and 2020. Based on the numbers from USA Today for 2018, the $5.35 million in 2019 would make him the ninth highest paid coach in the country. With he retirement of Urban Meyer he would trail only Jim Harbaugh in the Big Ten.
Yes, we’re gambling big on him, as $36.8 million is a lot over the next seven seasons, but given what he has done so far it is a good gamble.