Ad Disclosure
Tennessee coach Butch Jones accepted a raise of $500,000 on Monday in a move that has been expected for weeks.
Jones, entering his fourth season at Tennessee, has rebuilt a depleted Vols roster and coached the team to an 8-4 regular-season record in 2015.
For context, every SEC West coach made more than $4 million this season, including Dan Mullen and Hugh Freeze at Mississippi State and Ole Miss, respectively.
Given that every SEC team received $31.1 million in revenue sharing, and the new contract puts Jones near the lower middle of the pack in the SEC, the contract is sane. It’s a pretty standard practice in the SEC. Jones also now is the longest-tenured head coach in the East Division, tied with Kentucky’s Mark Stoops at three completed seasons.
Alabama coach Nick Saban, whom Jones nearly beat in Tuscaloosa this year, makes more than $7 million per season and in 2015 made nearly double the salary of the UT coach.
Tennessee fans — and Clay Travis, for good measure — went a little berserk on Twitter nonetheless.
It was just a few years ago Tennessee fans were outraged when Fulmer got an automatic extension with 8 wins. Now Butch gets a raise for it.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 14, 2015
Imagine how much Tennessee is going to pay Butch Jones when he actually beats a good team.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 14, 2015
Butch Jones just robbed UT without a Ski Mask!
— Oran “Juice” Jones (@tallyjuice) December 14, 2015
https://twitter.com/kadinhp/status/676515704594636800
Butch Jones is 20-17 at Tennessee (54%) & the rednecks in charge think he is worth $4.1 million a year? Everyone celebrates mediocrity
— Hi. (@JBen1980) December 14, 2015
WHAT is going through Dave Hart's mind. @UTCoachJones your brain is a vegetable in the 2nd half. my day = ruined. https://t.co/2dJuuPwUfL
— Branton Phillips (@phillipsbranton) December 14, 2015
I feel like Butch Jones is at risk of popping a blood vessel in his head even doing minor things like getting milk from the fridge
— ?? CMP3 ?? (@CMPIII) December 14, 2015
Some media members came to Jones’ defense — or at least tried to explain to folks that this contract is pretty logical.
If you worked in an office with 13 other employees and outperformed your 11th-highest salary wouldn't you want a raise?
— Patrick Brown (@pbrown247) December 14, 2015
Psst…Internet…Butch Jones' raise to $4.1 million essentially puts him mid-pack in the SEC. It's a market correction. Calm down.
— Barrett Sallee ?? (@BarrettSallee) December 14, 2015
Butch Jones is 1 of 8 SEC coaches with $4M salaries. There were actually 9 last year, but Richt & Spurrier left the league.
— Creg Stephenson the First (@CregStephenson) December 14, 2015
What do you think of Tennessee paying Butch Jones $4.1 million per season?
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
