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LSU coaching search: Top candidate to receive mega raise at current school, per report
By Keith Farner
Published:
Mel Tucker has reportedly landed a raise thanks to his reported connection to the LSU job.
Amid rumors that Michigan State’s football coach could bolt for LSU, Rico Beard reported on 97.1 The Ticket that it appears Tucker is signing a long-term extension with the Spartans that could pay him up to $8 million per year.
“I have sources who said it appears that Mel Tucker is going to be getting a contract extension with money around $6.8 to $7.8 million (per year) with escalators and bonuses that could take him up even higher,” said Beard, adding that the news is “unconfirmed.”
That would be about a $3 million per year raise from his current compensation level, and place him within the top 10 of highest-paid coaches in the country.
Michigan State officials and fans remember a similar situation in 1999 when Nick Saban left East Lansing for Baton Rouge, however, reports suggest that Tucker won’t follow that path.
“Mel Tucker’s about to secure the bag,” said Mike Valenti, corroborating Beard’s report. “Long-term extension, $6.8 million with incentives to take him to $8 million. It firmly puts him in the top 8 highest-paid coaches. It gets him Ryan Day money. Both Rico and I have heard the same things. This is not new. They’ve been working on this for weeks.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
