Regents approve U of A football coach Brent Brennan's contract

TEMPE — The Arizona Board of Regents approved the University of Arizona's proposed $3 million contract for new Head Football Coach Brett Brennan at a special meeting Thursday.

The five-year contract submitted by the UA asked for $600,000 more than previously proposed. In 2024, Brennan will receive $2.7 million in school-paid compensation.

Brennan, who was present at the ABOR meeting, is expected to receive $3 million in 2025, $3.2 million in 2026, $3.5 million in 2027 and $3.6 million in 2027. 

The annual school-paid amounts include $500,000 for additional, mostly public-facing, duties but they do not include extra annual payments of $200,000 from both Nike and IMG, meaning Brennan would receive a total of $4.1 million in guaranteed pay for 2027.

"I could not be more thrilled to be back here," Brennan said. "It’s where I want to be, it’s where my family wants to be. The people in Tucson have always been amazing, they’ve been amazing to me, amazing to my family, and the people make the place."

Brennan is replacing former Head Football Coach Jed Fisch, who announced early last week he was leaving for the head coaching job at the University of Washington.

The UA will pay San Jose State University, Brennan's former employer, $1 million to "satisfy the early termination buyout provision" in his former contract.

The university is expecting to receive $5.5 million from Fisch/University of Washington following his departure, and according to an ABOR document, "a portion of that amount will be used to make this payment to SJSU."

UA President Robert C. Robbins told the regents that Brennan's teambuilding skills will be crucial to the Wildcats' upcoming season.

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"He’s gone on to have incredible success at San Jose State," Robbins said. "I would argue one of the most difficult places to win in all of college football and I think he’s done an incredible job of building a team.”

Some high-profile players announced last week that they were staying with the UA despite the change in head coach, which Robbins said helped prove that Brennan was the right choice for the job.

“One of the biggest affirmations that we got the right guy for the right time to be at the University of Arizona is that the team that our former coach left, I think he assumed a lot of them were going to follow him … but they stayed,” Robbins told the board. 

If he is still employed at the UA in "good standing and performing his duties," Brennan is also eligible for a one-time retention payment of $250,000 in January 2026.

Brennan may also receive performance incentives if the program reaches certain yearly milestones. Those incentives are capped at $1.2 million per year, and include, for example, $100,000 if the team participates in the first round of the college football playoffs, $400,000 if the team wins the championship, and $150,000 if the team wins its conference championship game.

Additionally, Brennan may receive between $10,000 and $25,000 for a certain number of regular season wins and $40,000 for a Top 10 ranking.

He may also be paid for if his players achieve a certain cumulative grade point average. The football team's cumulative GPA for the 2022-23 academic year was a 2.85. Brennan can expect to receive $25,000 if the team's cumulative GPA is equal to or exceeds 2.80. That payment goes up to $55,000 if the team's cumulative GPA is equal to or exceeds a 3.30.

Brennan will receive all employee-related benefits normally available to UA employees, with additional benefits including tickets to sporting events, a country club membership, use of a car and a non-commercial airplane for in-season road trips, and a bowl/post-season game package.