A USA TODAY story from Aug. 30, 2024, noted a handful of coaches who had not signed contracts coming into the 2024 season, including Lewis, Michigan\u2019s Sherrone Moore, Fresno State\u2019s Tim Skipper and Louisiana Monroe\u2019s Bryant Vincent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a handful of coaches that I know, just from having gone through this experience, that operated on MOUs,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cI happened to be one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewis declined to elaborate further on particular sticking points in his contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s, obviously, a very important document that both sides need to feel comfortable with so that we could have a great relationship for a very, very long future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Martin Greenberg, a Milwaukee-based attorney and sports law professor at Marquette University, told USA TODAY that the delays often are on \u201cthe back end of the contract,\u201d where termination, buyouts and due process are addressed.<\/p>\n
![\"SDSU's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SUT-L-azfoot-0420-023.jpg\")
SDSU\u2019s Head Coach, Sean Lewis attempts to catch a pass during the AztecFAST Showcase held on April 19, 2025, at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, CA. (Xavier Hernandez for the UT)
\nDetails, details<\/p>\n
Lewis is scheduled to make $1,853,100 \u2014 $353,100 in base salary from the university and $1.5 million in supplemental compensation from the SDSU Research Foundation \u2014 this season, according to Lewis\u2019 contract, which was obtianed by the Union-Tribune. Supplemental compensation rises $100,000 each year, increasing his salary to $2,153,100 by the 2028 season, the final year of the contract.<\/p>\n
There are several incentive bonuses, all paid through the SDSU Research Foundation.<\/p>\n
Lewis will receive:<\/p>\n
\u2022 $75,000 for winning or sharing the Mountain West title (or successor or substitute conference).<\/p>\n
\u2022 $25,000 for participating in the MW championship game (or successor or substitute conference).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Anywhere from $50,000 to $400,000 for a postseason appearance ranging from a non-CFP bowl with a payout less than $1.5 million to the CFP national championship game.<\/p>\n
\u2022 $15,000 if he is named Mountain West Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u2022 $25,000 if he is named NFCA National Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u2022 $75,000 for two wins over top 25 teams (USA TODAY or AP poll).<\/p>\n
\u2022 $25,000 for a victory over the highest CFP-ranked Mountain West team.<\/p>\n
\u2022 $10,000 for each win over a Power Five school.<\/p>\n
\u2022 $10,000 for a player earning first-team All-American or the Heisman Trophy.<\/p>\n
\u2022 $25,000 for ranking in the final AP top 25 ($50,000 for top 15 ranking or better).<\/p>\n
\u2022 $10,000 for team cumulative GPA of at least 2.80.<\/p>\n
\u2022 $15,000 for annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) above 950 or a 4-year trailing average APR above 940.<\/p>\n
Lewis also receives an automobile allowance of $1,000 per month.<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SUT-L-azfoot-03128.jpg\")
San Diego State head coach Sean Lewis looks on at practice, March, 11, 2025 in San Diego, Calif. (Photo by Denis Poroy)
\nBuyout amounts<\/p>\n
Lewis will receive 75% of his remaining salary if he is fired before Jan. 31, 2026 and 85% of his remaining salary if he is fired between Feb. 1, 2026 and Jan. 31, 2027. Lewis will receive all his remaining pay if he is terminated after Feb. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n
If he leaves early on his own, Lewis will owe SDSU money: $5 million if he were to leave this year, $3 million next year and $2 million in 2027 and 2028.<\/p>\n
Notably, there is a clause in Lewis\u2019 contract that allows for \u201cgood faith renegotiation\u201d if SDSU changes conference affiliation. The Aztecs are moving to the Pac-12 on July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
The renegotiation will be \u201cinitiated to the extent warranted by market conditions in such realigned conference to include changes in broadcast and other projected revenues, peer compensation in such realigned conference, and other relevant factors as determined by the parties.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SUT-L-Aurich.jpg\")
San Diego State assistant coach Rob Aurich, who has been promoted to defensvie coordinator, works a practice drill. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nStaff pool<\/p>\n
The salary pool for the SDSU football staff is at least $3.73 million per year. The pool covers 10 full-time assistant coaches, operations\/office staff and support staff, including (but not limited to) recruiting staff, offensive and defensive analysts, strength and conditioning coaches and graduate assistants.<\/p>\n
The salaries for the team\u2019s 10 assistant coaches, GM Caleb Dais and head of football performance Jeff Sobol range from $100,008 to $405,000 per year. All the contracts are through Feb. 28, 2026, except new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, whose two-year contract runs through February. 28, 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sean Lewis was hired as San Diego State\u2019s football coach 599 days ago. Lewis signed his contract last…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":76009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,3549,7264,9656,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-76008","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-san-diego","12":"tag-sandiego","13":"tag-uncategorized","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114881286949825405","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}