Mario Cristobal netted record-setting pay from Miami for 2022
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Mario Cristobal was paid a handsome amount for his first year leading the program at Miami.
According to university documents obtained by Brent Schrotenboer with USA Today, the Hurricanes paid Cristobal $22.7 million in 2022. That figure was made up of $7.7 million in base pay with just shy of $15 million coming in the form of “other reportable compensation.
USA Today cites that figure as the largest single-year amount ever paid to an athletics department employee at a private university. The highest single-year figure ever paid to a private university president was $22.8 million to Amy Gutmann, then the University of Pennsylvania president in 2021.
Univ of Miami credited FB coach Mario Cristobal with $22.7 million in total pay for 2022 calendar year, @Schrotenboer reports, citing school’s new federal tax docs. $7.7M in base + other pay that likely includes buyout he owed Oregon + taxes on that amt: https://t.co/nlHJDKzVrc
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) April 17, 2024
Why such the high figure for Cristobal? According to USA Today’s reporting, the belief is that the $14.9 million in “other pay” was used to cover Cristobal’s buyout owed to Oregon in order to leave the Ducks to join Miami. That buyout with Oregon was worth $9 million.
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Worth the cost?
After 5 years and a 35-13 record at Oregon, Cristobal made the move to Miami to rebuild the program. Prior to his arrival, the Hurricanes were 28-21 without a double-digit win season from 2018-21.
Unfortunately, immediate results have not followed. The Hurricanes were 5-7 in Cristobal’s first season with a disastrous home loss to Middle Tennessee State, and Miami was better in 2023 but only able to finish with a 7-6 record.
We’ll see if Miami can finally breakthrough this fall, but the early results have not lived up to the big-time figure paid to Cristobal.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
