Cal football coach Tosh Lupoi is set to make $22.6 million over the life of his five-year deal, according to a copy of the contract obtained by The Daily Californian.
The agreement, which was finalized Oct. 1, covers Lupoi’s first five seasons in Berkeley, running from December 2025 through January 2031. His base salary is listed at $275,000 per year in each of those seasons, but that number is only a small piece of the package.
The real money sits in the “Talent Fee,” the contract term used for compensation tied to off-the-field duties such as speaking at university events and making television appearances. Across the five years, the guaranteed talent fee averages $4,225,000 annually.
That pushes Lupoi’s total guaranteed pay to $22,600,000, which works out to $4,500,000 per year over the full deal. The contract also includes a one-time signing bonus of $100,000.
If Cal decides to move on before the contract ends, the school would owe at least 80% of the remaining base salary and talent fee as a buyout.
The university also agreed to cover the initiation fee and dues for any country club Lupoi chooses to join.
Beyond the guaranteed money, the contract is loaded with incentives. Lupoi would get $200,000 for winning eight regular-season games, $150,000 for reaching the first round of the College Football Playoff, and $750,000 for winning a national championship. There is also a $40,000 bonus for reaching any bowl game and $25,000 for beating Stanford in the regular season.
Academic benchmarks are built in as well. The contract includes a $60,000 bonus if the team posts a collective GPA above 3.00, along with academic progress rate incentives that can reach $150,000.
There is also a renegotiation trigger if Cal football records 17 regular-season wins across two consecutive seasons during the contract term. In that case, the university has agreed to a “look-in period” to revisit the compensation terms.
Cal is 3-4 this season and has gone 1-2 since Lupoi finalized the contract.
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