Clemson's Dabo Swinney to Forgo $1.25M in Compensation amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney has agreed to receive $1.25 million less in compensation because of the university and athletic department's financial concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Steve Berkowitz of USA Today wrote:

"The document—provided in response to an open-records request—says Swinney will give up a $1 million retention payment that would become payable if he remains the Tigers' head coach through Jan. 1, 2021, and he will not receive a $250,000 raise that had been set to take effect on Jan. 1.

"Taken together, the reductions represent a decrease of just over 13 percent of the $9.375 million that Swinney was due to make during the university's 2021 fiscal year, which ends June 30."

Per Berkowitz, the Clemson athletic department expects annual operating revenue for the 2021 fiscal year "to be $30 million to $50 million lower than originally expected." 

The pandemic caused the shutdown of collegiate sports in mid-March right before the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. The remainder of the winter sports championships and the entire spring sports seasons were called off.

Schools are attempting to play slightly truncated, conference-heavy football seasons this year amid the pandemic. Clemson is among them, although capacity at games has been reduced dramatically or eliminated entirely, thereby hurting athletic department revenue.

Clemson has limited capacity to 19,000 in its 81,500-seat Memorial Stadium.

Although Swinney is expected to lose $1.25 million in compensation, he is still set to make $8.25 million during his 2020 contract year, per Berkowitz.

Swinney, who has led Clemson to two national championship wins and four title game appearances overall, signed a 10-year contract with $50 million guaranteed that is worth at least $93 million, per Berkowitz.

In addition to Swinney, other Clemson athletic department officials making $400,000 or more are taking 10 percent pay cuts, per Berkowitz. School president James Clement is also taking that pay cut as well.

Those cuts were expected to save the university $3.4 million, per athletics department spokesman Jeff Kallin.

Clemson football is surging forward amid the pandemic and has started the season 1-0 after a win over Wake Forest on Sept. 12.