Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele's prolonged stay at Auburn is a lucrative one.
Steele's 3-year agreement — which began in January — with the program makes him one of the three highest paid assistant coaches in the country, according to a Tuesday report from USA Today.
In 2019, his base salary is set to $1.9 million, increasing to $2 million for the 2020 football season. Under the new deal, he is no longer eligible for $225,000 in possible bonuses for team defensive performance, or a $83,333 retention payment for next season.
Steele’s first contract secured $1.3 million a year with over $100,000 in possible bonuses. This contract would have gone through Jan. 1, 2019, but was upgraded for Steele’s third season as the Tigers' defensive coordinator.
The only other assistant coaches to have an equal or higher salary are LSU and Clemson defensive coordinators Dave Aranda ($2.5 million) and Brent Venables ($2.2 million), respectively.
According to the report, Steele will earn $1.8 million in basic compensation this season, and could receive a bonus of $250,000 if he continues to be employed by Auburn after this current football season and through December 1 — the date of this year's SEC title game.
That bonus can be pulled by Auburn if Steele is fired without cause before the conference championship game in Atlanta.
Auburn is now 2-3 in the SEC and was not featured in the first College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings, revealed Tuesday evening. Auburn faces a difficult schedule with No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 6 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama as its only remaining Power 5 opponents.
Amid his third season on The Plains, Steele leads an Auburn defense that ranks fifth nationally in defensive S&P+ rating, No. 16 in sacks, No. 5 in tackles for loss, No. 13 in scoring defense and No. 27 in rushing defense.
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