MADISON, WI (WSAU) — New Wisconsin Badger football coach Luke Fickell is getting a significant raise in his new job.
Fickell signed a seven-year deal that’s reportedly worth about $7.8 million plus incentives, nearly $3 million more than he was making with the University of Cincinnati.
UW is also paying Cincinnati a $3 million exit fee for hiring the coach before his contract was up. Fickell had recently signed an extension with UC through 2028 after he guided the Bearcats to an American Atheltic Conference title and berth in the College Football Playoff in 2021.
Fickell’s salary also represents a raise for the position of about $2 million over what former HC Paul Chryst was making before he was let go midway through the last season.
It remains to be seen if Jim Leonhard will remain on the UW coaching staff. Leonhard was named the Interim Head Coach for the second half of the season, and numerous reports indicated that he was the frontrunner for the job until Sunday afternoon when news of Fickell’s hire began to leak.
