Kansas football investing heavily with a new deal for Lance Leipold
It's not easy to win big as a college football program at a school like Kansas. The Jayhawks have always prioritized basketball and KU will always be a basketball school.
However, the Kansas football program has taken a huge step forward over the past two seasons under the direction of Lance Leipold. After winning just two games in his first season on the job in Lawrence, the Jayhawks have gone to back-to-back bowl games and won nine last season.
The defining moment of Leipold's tenure was the win over No. 6 Oklahoma last season, which happened with a backup quarterback. His early success has caused other programs to make a run at him. He was mentioned for the Nebraska job before Matt Rhule was hired and it's only a matter of time before another big Midwest job comes up and he'll be one of the top candidates.
Yet, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN, the Jayhawks aren't going to make that easy for anyone as they rewarded their head coach with new money on his contract. No years were added, which is sort of strange, but Leipold is making $7 million annually, putting him among the highest-paid coaches in the Big 12.
Sources: Kansas has agreed to a new contract for coach Lance Leipold that features a significant raise in his average salary to more than $7 million per year, putting him in the Top 3 average salary in the Big 12. Leipold has delivered back-to-back bowl seasons at Kansas, and the… pic.twitter.com/4jII76IlJv
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 28, 2024
Jalon Daniels is going to be the starting quarterback next season for Kansas football and with Texas and Oklahoma gone, plus the additions of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Arizona State, it feels like a golden opportunity for Kansas football to potentially earn a College Football Playoff bid.
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This contract isn't about that though. This is about keeping Leipold beyond the 2024 season and these new contract details show what kind of investment Kansas football is making in trying to win.