Curt Cignetti’s contract highlights the insanity of Mark Stoops’ extension

Let's cut to the chase here; Mark Stoops' contract with the University of Kentucky will never not be insane. Stoops is one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, ranked at #9. Yet, he has never been a top-10 coach in terms of success. He's been good and even better than average but never elite. Today, it was announced that Curt Cignetti, one of the hottest and fastest-rising coaches in the NCAA, signed an extension with the Indiana Hoosiers.

There are some very strong similarities between these two situations, which only further clarifies how asinine Stoops' contract is. Cignetti is an example for Kentucky, and Big Blue Nation needs to hear it. For the future, the commitment to the athletic department can be as high as it will allow.

One of the main things we hear from Stoops apologists, rivals, or even onlookers is, "Kentucky is a basketball school; you'll never be good at football." Pause for a second. This is where the insanity starts. If Kentucky is willing to pay a coach a top-10 salary, then that right there should show that it doesn't have to be a "basketball-only" school.

Basketball school

Cignetti went into a non-football school and proved that it could be a football school. Indiana hasn't been known for football in decades but never at the same level as their basketball program. The Hoosiers are known for hoops, there are legitmate movies about it. Cignetti didn't care and came and took the Big 10 by storm. Could not Kentucky do the same with the right coach? Yes, they could. It's not a money thing. Kentucky has a top basketball NIL but also a very competitive football one which is evident by their top 25 recruiting class in spite of their on-field struggles.

10-wins = extension

Cignetti got to 10 wins on the year and signed a new contract. This should sound familiar because Stoops also signed his extension after a 10-win season. However, the Cignetti contract should once again show us the insanity of the Stoops deal. Stoops finished the season with 10 wins, and it ended up being a year that the NCAA vacated for violations. He also had to get to 10 by beating mostly average or below-average teams. Cignetti has beaten everyone. Literally every team they have played. 10-0.

The salary details

This is great for Cignetti, and I don't want to poo-poo on his new contract, but don't you see how frustrating the Stoops extension is by proxy? This is one of the best coaches in America that took over a bad program and turned it around and now is on their way towards a huge season with College Football Playoff aspirations, it feels inevitable at this point.

Cignetti will be about the 16th highest-paid coach at $8 million a year. Stoops is getting $9 million and is one of the top-paid coaches in college football. And because of these things, you can see how insane it is that Stoops got the extension he did.