Clemson, Brent Venables agree to new contract
Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables is about to become a whole lot richer.
Clemson agreed on Thursday morning to keep Venables in Tiger Town for the next five years, where he will make $2 million a year and earn a retention bonus of $200,000 per year the first two years of the deal. He will earn the retention bonuses at the conclusion of the National Championship Game.
Clemson's board is expected to approve the deal shortly.
The deal is worth $11.6 million dollars and will now rank Venables 2nd in the country behind LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. Aranda averages $2.5 million per year for four seasons, while Venables averages $2.3 million, but Venables total deal is worth $11.6 million over the next five seasons which will surpass Aranda’s $10 million contract total and will make him the highest paid coordinator ever in college football.
Venables doesn’t have a buyout if he were to take a head coaching job, but if he were to leave Clemson for another assistant coaching position, he’d have to pay 25 percent of the total remaining on the agreement.
It’s hard to believe Venables would leave Clemson any time soon. His son, Jake just enrolled at Clemson and will play linebacker at Clemson.
Venables is one of the most respected coordinators in the country as he has led Clemson to a national championship and has won the Broyles Award for the nation’s top assistant coach. Clemson also had the No. 1 defense in the country in 2014 under his guidance.