Mark Dantonio and Michigan State Reportedly Agree to New Contract

Updates From Tuesday, Feb. 25

ESPN's Brett McMurphy details just how much of a raise Mark Dantonio will be receiving from Michigan State:

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Mark Dantonio receives revised contract, increasing salary from $1.99M to $3.64M

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) February 25, 2014"

Original Text

Mark Dantonio is getting a raise. 

The Michigan State head coach, who led the Spartans to a Big Ten title and a spot in the Rose Bowl this season, has agreed to a new contract with the school, according to ESPN's Joe Schad. The new contract will make him one of the three highest-paid coaches in the Big Ten and will place his staff among the three-highest paid in all of college football, a source told Schad.

Joe Rexrode of the Lansing State Journal adds more detail:

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Hollis said the specifics of the deal are not ready for release, but he confirmed in a text message that Dantonio will be in the top three—which would mean an increase from $1.96 million (ninth in the Big Ten) to the $4 million range.

According to a recent USA Today report, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer is tops in the Big Ten at $4.6 million, Michigan’s Brady Hoke is second at $4.154 million and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz is third with a salary of $3.985 million.

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Texas reportedly wanted to interview Dantonio for its vacancy at head coach, per Chip Brown of Orangebloods.com, but this news means it's presumably safe to cross the 57-year-old's name off that list. 

The raise is well-deserved. 

Since coming over from Cincinnati in 2007, Dantonio has led the Spartans to a combined 63-29 (.685) record. MSU made just one bowl in the four seasons preceding Dantonio's tenure, but he has brought consistency and stability to the program. During his reign, the Spartans have made a bowl every season, never winning fewer than six games and hitting double-digit victories in three of the past four years.

The year 2013 was a new high for Dantonio and Michigan State, though.

After a disappointing 7-6 campaign in 2012, the Spartans, who weren't ranked in the preseason, won 12 games, including a victory over previously undefeated Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game, to climb to No. 4 in the rankings and earn a spot in "The Granddaddy of Them All" against Stanford. 

Dantonio credits the team's success to chemistry, via Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News:

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We’ve had things that have disappointed us in the past, and we rally and close ranks and move forward. We’re going to protect our people in every sense of the way, the people that are here and the people that aren’t. We’ve always had great chemistry and we’ve won because of chemistry.

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Whatever the reason for the success, Dantonio has established the Spartans as a legitimate force in the Big Ten. After signing this new contract, he's not going anywhere.