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Clemson football signed coach Dabo Swinney to a new 10-year, $115 million contract earlier this week. It was not a mistake to do so.
The news of Dabo Swinney's new deal broke quickly and fiercely this past Thursday. Not surprisingly, it yielded reactions ranging from contempt and derision to support and enthusiasm.
With someone like Swinney, those reactions from fans, observers, and experts come naturally. He is such a polarizing figure in college football, after all. Some say he is highly overpaid, while others believe he is worth every penny and more. Get 10 CFB people in a room, ask them if Swinney's worth it, and you might get 10 totally different reactions.
Dabo Swinney has signed a 10-year/$115M contract extension through 2031 with Clemson, per @Brett_McMurphy pic.twitter.com/jPwY84K88L
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 8, 2022
Still, is there someone who is worth $11.5 million each year? Even for someone like Swinney, who's achieved so much?
Probably not in the real world or in any relatively ordinary industry. However, given the tectonic shifts that have recently occurred in the college football scene, nothing is out of the question anymore.
There is one thing to keep in mind before we look at whether this was a good move for Clemson football or not. There is a very distinct possibility that this could be Swinney's final contract in CFB.
Take note that Dabo Swinney's new deal basically keeps him at Clemson until 2031. He will be 62 by then and will have been the Tigers' coach for 24 seasons. If he continues to average 10 victories every season, he should have 250 career wins by then. That would put him among the top ten winningest major college coaches of all time. For someone like Swinney and a program like Clemson football, that is not only possible. It's probable.
As such, here are 2 reasons why Clemson football didn't make a huge mistake with Dabo Swinney's new contract.
2. The market dictates the price
Keep in mind that the football coaching market in 2022 is continuously expanding in terms of the coaches' collective value. The market is objectively on an increasing trend. Remember that prior to Thursday, the two highest-paid coaches were as expected — Alabama's Nick Saban and Georgia's Kirby Smart.
Should Dabo Swinney's pay be comparable to Saban's and Smart's? Absolutely.
Clemson Athletics Director Graham Neff recently justified this according to Scott Keepfer of Greenville News.
“His integrity, values, and ethics, as well as how he leads Clemson football and the 130 guys on the current roster, let alone the previous players,” Neff said. “His connectedness throughout the Clemson football family is unparalleled, and we see and feel it on a daily basis.”
Swinney has clearly planted roots in Clemson, and they have rewarded him for it.
“I believe acts like these today highlight our support for him and how he leads that program in the rapidly changing climate that is college athletics,” Neff added. “He has established himself as the market leader.”
When you're the market leader, you deserve the most that the market can offer. A new $115 million contract seems just right.
1. He's a winner, pure and simple
Don't forget that coach Dabo Swinney also has the greatest winning percentage among active FBS coaches and is one of just two active head coaches with multiple national championships.
Swinney's CFB coaching resume reads like a valedictorian's roll of achievements. He has won 81 percent of his CFB games, including 11 bowl games. He has two national titles and seven ACC championship trophies in his cabinet. Swinney also has three Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Awards. For comparison, Nick Saban has just two.
Given that, Swinney's new contract places him at No. 2 on the list of college coaching's new multimillionaires. He's not far behind Saban and not much ahead of Smart.
Although he wouldn't say it, Neff also smartly waited until new contracts with Saban and Smart were finalized before dotting the i's and crossing the t's on Swinney's most recent generous deal.
“There’s always strategy,” Neff said. “Did we intentionally wait? Not necessarily, but we were very intentional about understanding that the market was still moving and we tried to make sure we were strategic about how we balanced all of that together.”
That's just practical business-like maneuvering on the side of Neff and Clemson football. It was also just the right timing for someone as deserving as Swinney.
“I stayed in touch with colleagues, so I had some expectations that there was certainly movement in the market,” Neff explained. “And with what Coach has achieved, it’s a very small market.”
No question there.
Swinney has boosted Clemson's program to prominence. With him on the helm, the Tigers have become a yearly fixture in the playoffs, if not the College Football Playoff. For Clemson football, making 10-win seasons is now an annual rite rather than an annual battle.
Love him or not, Dabo Swinney objectively deserves this hefty, multi-year contract. Now it's time to deliver on the field.
