Contract terms released for Indiana OC Nick Sheridan

Nick Sheridan’s promotion to offensive coordinator is coming with the expected pay bump.

According to Sheridan’s contract, which was obtained by Crimson Quarry on Friday through an open records request, the 32-year-old, first-time play-caller will make $450,000 per year in base salary. That’s a jump from the reported $189,644 he previously made as IU’s tight ends coach.

As is often the case for Division I coordinators, Sheridan’s contract is full of performance-related bonuses. It’s all pretty standard stuff, but here’s how it breaks down:

— If IU wins a total of six games during a given season, Sheridan will receive an additional payment of $20,000 if he is still employed at the time of the sixth win.

— If the Hoosiers win a total of seven or eight games during the course of a single season, Sheridan will receive an additional $2,500 bonus per victory for wins seven and eight.

— If Indiana wins a total of nine or more games in a season, Sheridan will receive an additional payment of $5,000 per win for each victory above eight games.

— If IU wins the Big Ten East, Sheridan will receive $10,000.

— If Indiana wins the Big Ten Championship game, Sheridan will make $20,000.

— If the Hoosiers appear in a College Football Playoff Semifinal game, Sheridan will receive an additional payment of $20,000.

— If IU wins a College Football Playoff Semifinal game and appears in the national title game, Sheridan will make an additional $25,000.

— If the Hoosiers win the national championship, Sheridan will receive an additional $40,000 payment.

Sheridan was promoted to offensive coordinator in January, replacing Kalen DeBoer. Now the head coach at Fresno State, DeBoer had a contract worth a total annual salary of $800,000 during his lone season at IU. He was the highest-paid assistant in Indiana football history, arriving in Bloomington with experience as a coordinator at Fresno State and Eastern Michigan, along with experience as a former NAIA head coach.

Now, Indiana is taking a chance on the unproven, relatively inexperienced Sheridan. He joined head coach Tom Allen’s staff in 2017 as quarterbacks coach, a position he maintained through the 2018 campaign. Sheridan moved over to the tight ends room last season, yielding quarterback coaching duties to DeBoer.

The money seems about right, given Sheridan’s resume and level of experience. It’s also on par with the base salary of IU’s 33-year-old defensive coordinator, Kane Wommack, who was promoted to his role after the 2018 season.

Peoples’ contract revealed

In other financial news, new defensive line coach Kevin Peoples will make $330,000 per year in base salary, per a contract obtained by CQ. Peoples joined IU’s staff in February, replacing Mark Hagen, who is now at Texas. Because Tulane, Peoples’ previous stop, is a private school, there is no information available about his previous contract.

Wellman to be paid handsomely

It was reported in March that new strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman will make $700,000 in annual salary. Per a contract obtained Friday by CQ, $440,000 of that is in base pay. The remaining $260,000 will come from “outside marketing and promotional income.”

According to the USA Today coaching salaries database, Wellman’s total annual compensation of $700,000 would have ranked third nationally in 2019.