New Mexico State Head Coach Doug Martin Receives Contract Extension

Head Coach Doug Martin was rewarded for his patience and hard work yesterday as Mario Moccia announced to the team that they agreed to a three year contract extension.

The team clapped and cheered when they heard the news, which I’m sure was a special moment for Coach Martin.

Contract Details

Coach Martin’s salary will remain the same at $364,044.13 but he has a number of incentives in this new deal that can significantly raise that figure.

Specifically, for each win against UNM or UTEP, Martin will receive a $5,000 bonus.

Additionally, Martin will receive a $20,000 bonus if he leads the Aggies to a bowl game OR six regular season wins. He will also receive a percentage of season ticket sales revenue as long as there is an excess in comparison to the prior five year average.

The buyout clauses will also change when the new contract begins December 31.

If Martin is fired before July 1, 2019 then NMSU would owe him $180,000. If that termination comes after July 1 and before June 30, 2020 then that figure drops to $120,000. Furthermore, if Martin is relieved after June 30, then he would be owed $60,000.

Martin would owe the same amount of money to the school if he were to leave the program for another job.

Implications

This is huge news for the future of the Aggies program. Not only does it provide the program with a coach throughout the independent schedule, it also is huge for recruiting purposes.

A few recruits cancelled their visits to Las Cruces last weekend due to the uncertain future of Coach Martin and his contract. That won’t happen anymore.

Really, though, this contract extension solidifies the future of the Aggie program.

What was a program in disarray, academically and athletically, has now gained some much needed stability.

Personal Thoughts

It’s been my opinion that if Martin were to leave as the football team moves into independent status, then it would eventually fold.

I mean, who would come and coach a team with little history, no conference and lots of new starters? We would be going back to square one.

Coach Martin is the right man for this job and should be kept at all costs. He has done such an amazing job, along with the coordinators, assistant coaches and players.

I also have to give credit to AD Mario Moccia. He helped get this done and has never let HC Martin wonder about his future, while also making a great schedule for next year.

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

I really can’t emphasize enough how much I respect all of our coaches and AD Moccia. These guys are selfless and committed to building something special at a place that most people wouldn’t even think of coaching.

For that, I just want to thank all of them.

Keep up the good work and go Aggies! #AggieUp