It was a steal

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004 | 9:35 a.m.

No wonder UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick is walking around with such a big smile these days.

Not only did Hamrick sign perhaps the nation's hottest offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford, away from Mountain West Conference rival Utah to replace John Robinson as head coach, he didn't have to overpay to do it.

In fact, you might say Hamrick got himself a real bargain.

Although various media reports speculated that Sanford would be paid a yearly salary between $600,000 and $700,000 to coach the Rebels, it actually works out to "only" about $450,000 per year.

A copy of Sanford's proposed five-year contract, which is scheduled to be voted on Friday morning in a special Board of Regents meeting, was e-mailed to several media outlets on Wednesday night. Among the highlights:

"His contract, including the country club membership and the car, works out to about $450,000 per year," Hamrick said. "That's competitive with the contracts of other Mountain West Conference coaches."

Former UNLV coach John Robinson, who retired at the end of the season, was paid $600,000 his final year to coach the Rebels. And there are reports from Salt Lake City that Utah, in a head-to-head battle with bitter in-state rival BYU, is prepared to pay Utes defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham as much as $750,000 per year to replace Urban Meyer.

Sanford's contract also includes several incentive clauses which kick in depending on how successful his team is.

Sanford gets a $5,000 bonus if the Rebels appear in a bowl game. If UNLV wins the Mountain West Conference and plays in the Liberty Bowl, he receives a bonus of one month's salary. And should the Rebels make it to a BCS bowl, a path the Utes pioneered this year for mid-majors, he earns a $50,000 bonus.

Other contract highlights:

The contract also includes a pretty stiff buyout provision which is his base salary ($150,000) for each year left on the contract, plus an amount equal to his annual radio and TV appearance money ($137,500 per year).

After briefly scanning the contract on Tuesday night, Regent Mark Alden said he liked what he saw.

"It is a well thought out and well put together contract," Alden said. "The main thing is the disclosure and the source of the funds. We've learned a lot from the secret deals of Rollie Massimino. I think it is a fair and reasonable contract for both parties."