Kenny Dillingham has raked in bonuses: Here’s why he gave a huge chunk to ASU staff

Kenny Dillingham has made nearly $1 million in bonuses on top of his $3.95 million annual salary in his second season as Arizona State’s head coach.

ASU’s 10-2 record and Big 12 Championship Game appearance triggered several raises to his base contract, which was first inked in December 2022. The Sun Devils’ leader isn’t keeping it all to himself.

SunDevilSource.com’s Chris Karpman reported on Thanksgiving that Dillingham told 20 off-the-field staffers last week that they would receive bonuses in the $5,000-10,000 range. The news came two days after ASU defeated BYU, giving him $200,000 in bonus cash for earning the program’s ninth win.

It was not unrelated, as that amount was diverted from his pockets, the head coach confirmed Monday on The Jim Rome Show.

.@KennyDillingham on dividing his 200k win bonus among 20 off-field staffers. @ASUFootball pic.twitter.com/M2NnB3cnIl

— Jim Rome (@jimrome) December 2, 2024

“I’m one piece of this,” Dillingham said. “Like, I’m the guy who goes on your show and talks for the brand. I’m not the guy breaking down the film right now, putting in 100s of hours doing that. I’m not the guy meeting with our players 24/7. I’m not the guy putting together cutups. I’m not the guy talking to every single one of our recruits.

“We need an army, we need a group of people together to get this accomplished. I wanted to reward the people who really got us to this point.”

It took a bit of a learning curve for Dillingham to wrangle success into ASU’s program despite recruiting limitations stemming from the prior staff’s NCAA investigation.

The most public, aside from massive roster turnover the past two offseasons, was Dillingham relinquishing control of the offense. In his rookie season as an NCAA head coach, he took over play-calling from then-offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin before the fourth game of the season.

ASU eventually replaced Baldwin as OC and Dillingham as the play-caller. The Sun Devils hired the well-respected Marcus Arroyo for the 2024 season, allowing Dillingham to keep his big-picture perspective from the head coach’s seat.

“You got to prioritize what’s important,” Dillingham told Rome. “That was one thing in Year 1 I didn’t feel like I did a good job of. So worried about the scheme, so worried about the Xs and the Os, which is what I built my career upon. I built my career upon calling plays and scheming people open. What I realized in this role is it’s about the identity and the culture you want to have.

“I wanted to create a culture at Arizona State when you turn on the film, you know we are going to be a team that plays as hard as you can physically play and as physical as you can physically play for 60 minutes. The only way I could get that accomplished is if I kept that as the focus and not all the other stuff.”

There are more bonuses on Dillingham’s plate after the nine-win raise.

He earned another $300,000 for Arizona State’s 10th win of the year, a 49-7 drubbing of the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. That gave him an additional $395,000 (10% of his salary) for making the conference title game.

Add all that up, and USA Today’s contract database confirms the ASU coach has earned $945,000 in bonuses so far before considering other additions to his salary, such as for the Academic Progress Rate (APR).

On the field, Arizona State beating Iowa State for the Big 12 title Saturday will earn Dillingham another $395,000 for the conference crown, $400,000 for hitting 11 wins and $1.135 million more for a College Football Playoff appearance (30% of his pay, minus the $50,000 bonus for bowl game already secured).

Here’s a look at on-the-field performance bonuses from Dillingham’s original contract.

Kenny Dillingham’s contract details, bonuses as ASU head football coach

Regular Season Wins (Payment in this section is cumulative; total possible bonus = $1,400,000)
9 wins = $200,000
10 wins = $300,000
11 wins = $400,000
12 wins = $500,000

Conference Performance
Appearance in conference championship 10% of annual salary
OR
Wins conference championship 20% of annual salary
(Maximum possible bonus = $770,000)

Post-Season Performance
Non-Major Bowl Game Appearance $50,000
AND
Non-Major Bowl Game Win 1 month of annual salary
(Maximum possible bonus = $370,833)

Appearance in a Major Bowl Game 15% of annual salary
(Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton, Peach or Fiesta)
OR
Wins Major Bowl game 25% of annual salary
(Maximum possible bonus = $962,500)

Appearance in College Football Playoff (CFP) 30% of annual salary
Wins CFP Quarterfinal game 35% of annual salary
Wins CFP Semifinal game 40% of annual salary
OR
Wins CFP championship game 50% of annual salary
(Maximum possible bonus = $1,925,000)

Coach of the Year Awards (One payment for each achievement; total
possible = $150,000)
National Coach of the Year $100,000
Any Other Coach of the Year $50,000

E. Rankings in Final Polls (Non-cumulative; there will be only one payment for
the highest achievement, whichever ranking is highest and regardless of poll;
maximum possible bonus = $115,500)
Top 5 Ranking in Final Poll 3% of annual salary
Top 10 Ranking in Final Poll 2% of annual salary
Top 25 Ranking in Final Poll 1% of annual salary

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