Heupel's incentives package was also increased. He would earn $100,000 for making a bowl game and up to $1 million for winning the national championship. Other incentives include $50,000 for finishing in the Top 25, $100,000 for finishing in the top 10 and $150,000 for finishing in the top 5 as well as additional money for playing in the SEC championship game, winning coach of the year and his team reaching certain academic progress rates. Heupel will also receive increased private jet usage.
"The results over Josh's first two years speak for themselves," Tennessee athletic director Danny White said in a statement. "He and his staff have energized both our football program and our fan base with an aggressive brand of football, a competitive culture that creates leaders and a relentless approach to raising the bar every single day. Despite a brief period of dormancy, Tennessee never surrendered its status as a college football powerhouse. We just needed an innovative leader like Josh Heupel to reignite the spark.
"It's been fun to crash the party, but as Josh said after our Orange Bowl triumph [over Clemson], the best is yet to come."
Heupel said in a statement: "Our staff takes great pride in representing the Power T, and it's something we never take for granted. We will continue to work tirelessly to build a championship program that all of Vol Nation and all VFLs can be proud of. Most importantly, our players are the people who deserve all of the credit for our resurgence on Rocky Top."
Tennessee's No. 1 ranking in the initial College Football Playoff rankings last season was its first in school history. The Vols hosted ESPN's "College GameDay" twice last season and sold out six straight games at home.