How Danny White maxed out bonuses with Tennessee baseball capturing national title

Adam Sparks, Knoxville News Sentinel

Tennessee athletics director Danny White hit the ceiling of his annual bonuses as soon as Vols baseball won its first national championship on Monday.

White’s contract allows a maximum of $300,000 within an academic year. He almost doubled that total when coach Tony Vitello’s baseball team beat Texas A&M 6-5 to win the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Needless to say, White covets a national title above a few more bucks in his pocket. But the pay day surely will make an unforgettable day even sweeter for the UT AD.

White entered the final game of the College World Series with $259,875 in bonuses already earned for UT’s athletic and academic success in 2023-24, one of the most successful years in school history.

He finished the evening tallying $513,975 in bonuses per the terms of his contract.

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That included $69,300 for a team national championship, or 3% of his annual base salary. And it also included $184,800, or 8% of his base salary, for UT finishing in the top 10 of the Learfield Cup standings, which ranks all Division I school by success in all sports.

With the completion of the College World Series, UT placed third in the final Learfield Cup standings, its highest in school history.

The bad news for White is that he can only receive $300,000 of those bonuses.

The good news is that White already earns $2,310,000 annually in base salary with a rolling 5% annual raise. And now he’s got a baseball national title under his watch.

Here's every bonus that Danny White earned

In December 2022, White got a raise to $2.2 million in base salary, an annual 5% raise and a contract extension with a rolling six-year term.

His pay increased to $2.31 million in December 2023 because of that annual raise.

White’s incentive structure rewards him for championships, postseason appearances and academic success by UT teams. His bonuses are based on a percentage of his annual salary.

Here are White’s bonuses for 2023-24, but he can only receive the maximum of $300,000:

  • $184,800 (8% of base salary) for Learfield Cup top 10 finish

  • $121,275 (5%) for Academic Progress Rate high score

  • $69,300 (3%) for a team national championship

  • $46,200 (2%) for men’s basketball reaching Sweet 16 (no additional bonus for reaching Elite 8)

  • $23,100 (1%) for men’s basketball making NCAA tournament

  • $23,100 (1%) for women’s basketball making NCAA tournament

  • $23,100 (1%) for football making a bowl game

  • $23,100 (1%) for if any team wins an SEC championship (three teams won)

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Danny White maxes out bonuses with Tennessee baseball national title

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