MTSU football coach Derek Mason contract details released before season opener

With its 2024 season opener vs. Tennessee Tech on Saturday, Middle Tennessee State football first-year coach Derek Mason is now officially under contract.

MTSU and Mason signed the five-year deal last week. MTSU provided the Daily News Journal with a copy of the contract on Thursday.

And while it took more than eight months, both parties felt it was more of a formality after Mason agreed to a term sheet when he was hired.

"I never really thought about it that much," Mason said. "I left that to my agent and the powers that be here at MTSU. I think I understand my value, and to me it's never been about the money. Once I came here, I came here to do a job. I was going to keep that as the main thing. And, whenever it got done is whenever it got done."

MTSU athletic director Chris Massaro said there was nothing that could be read into the months it took for the contract to be finalized.

"I think mostly it wasn't a huge priority for anybody," Massaro said. "I think he and I both realized in particular that there were 1,000 things we'd rather be talking about and get done that had more urgency and more timeliness than the contract.

"The contract was a little bit of a formality. We had agreed on a term sheet and everything. It was more important for us to get a staff, then work through spring practice and those kind of things, so we didn't really talk a whole lot early in his tenure about the contract."

Both agreed it was good to get the contract signed and in place before the season opener, however.

Said Mason: "Am I glad it's done? Yes, because what that allows me to do is not answer questions within my staff when they want to know, 'Hey, what's going on?' It's good. I like where we sit. I think it gives me a chance to really build the program out the way I think it should be built."

MTSU football coach Derek Mason's contract details

Mason signed a five-year contract, beginning December 2023 and ending December 2028 with a base salary of $925,000 per year.

There are several incentives in the deal, including:

• A $10,000 bonus of MTSU reaches the Conference USA championship game and an additional $10,000 if the Blue Raiders win the conference championship game.
• A $35,000 bonus if MTSU is ranked in the top 25 in the final Associated Press of College Football Playoff poll.
• A $75,000 bonus if MTSU reaches the College Football Playoff.
• A $100,000 bonus if MTSU wins the CFP national championship.
• A $15,000 bonus if MTSU plays in a postseason bowl game (other than the CFP), with an additional $5,000 bonus if the Blue Raiders win a bowl game.
• A $5,000 bonus if Mason is named conference coach of the year.
• A $15,000 bonus if Mason is named national coach of the year by the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, Sporting News, Maxwell Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year, Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year of Bear Bryant Coach of the Year.

There is also language in the contract that allows bonuses for team academic achievement, and Mason will receive $75,000 annually for appearances requested by the university for radio, television, internet or any other medium. That amount is not part of Mason's base salary.

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The incentives do not include extension years, which was the case with for former coach Rick Stockstill, whose contract ran through 2029 after he was extended a year for going .500 or better, meeting academic requirements and staying NCAA compliant. MTSU paid a buyout of $5 million after he was fired.

"Those automatic extensions aren't built in to any contracts we've done recently," Massaro said. "What we did was realign bonuses and incentives to be a little more aggressive. We’ve stacked it a lot more to winning a conference championship, to making the CFP playoffs. Those are our goals. That’s the ultimate, if we can get into the CFP, that’s some rare thing. If we’re going to have those goals, lets reward those in contracts and make sure we’re clear.”

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If MTSU terminates Mason without cause during the contract, the buyout would include:

• Dec. 5, 2023-Dec. 4, 2026: Remaining base salary and media compensation, prorated monthly for the remainder of the agreement.
• Dec. 5, 2026-last game of the 2028 season (including postseason): 50% of the remaining base salary and media compensation, prorated monthly for the remainder of the agreement.

The buyout would also be contingent on Mason attempting and accepting employment or earn other types of compensation, which would result in a reduction of liquidated owed by the university.

If Mason elects to terminate the contract and leave MTSU during that period, he would pay:

• Dec. 5, 2023-Dec. 4, 2026: Remaining base salary due under the terms of the agreement.
• Dec. 5, 2026-Dec. 4, 2027: Thirty-five percent of the remaining base salary.
• Dec. 5, 2027-last game of the 2028 season (including postseason): Twenty-five percent of the remaining base salary

"I think he's happy," Massaro said of Mason. "He's happy here and we're happy with him. We're quite pleased with the work he's done in the first 6-7 months. We're hoping in 2-3 years we'll be offering him another one and that we've had incredible success.”

Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@dnj.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: MTSU football coach Derek Mason contract details released before season opener