By Ed Enoch
Staff Writer
The University of Alabama System trustees extended UA Athletic Director Greg Byrne’s contract by a year and increased his base annual salary by roughly $300,000 to $1.3 million.
The board of trustees’ compensation committee approved the amendments to Byrne’s contract during a brief meeting by phone on Tuesday.
“He has done an outstanding job in his time with us,” said UA President Stuart Bell, who presented the amended contract.
Bell praised the athletic and academic performances of student athletes during Byrne’s tenure as well as the department’s fundraising as part of its Crimson Standard campaign.
“Certainly, I hope Greg will be with us for a long time,” Bell said.
Bell said Byrne’s contract would be extended until June 30, 2026. His base salary would increase $40,000 annually from $1.3 million this year to $1.54 million in the last year of the contract.
The contract’s effective date was July 1, 2019. The deal was signed by Bell and Byrne Tuesday.
Byrne’s contract was also amended last year. In August 2018, the board increased his base salary to $980,000 for the 2018-19 academic year with a provision to increase his base compensation by $25,000 annually. Byrne’s initial base salary when he arrived in 2017 was $900,000 with the annual increase of $25,000.
In response to a question about the reason for the additional pay raise for Byrne roughly a year after receiving a salary increase, Bell said the athletic director had done “an outstanding job.”
“Markets are always changing, and we want to make sure his compensation is commensurate with the job he is doing and our expectations for excellence at The University of Alabama,” Bell said in a statement released by UA.
The contract also includes deferred compensation for Byrne in the form of supplemental retirement contributions by the university. The university will contributed $300,000 annually to Byrne’s retirement accounts in 2020-2023. In 2024-2026, the retirement contributions will be $400,000, $425,000, $450,000 respectively.
As part of the contract, Bell may award Byrne a discretionary incentive of as much as $210,000 annually based on academic and athletic performances by UA teams, fundraising, or other considerations.
Other benefits include a $25,000 annual expanse allowance, complementary athletic tickets, athletic apparel, a university vehicle, country club privileges, and 10 hours of flight time in noncommercial plane for personal use.
The contract includes a buyout provision that starts with the lump aggregate base salary owed over the life of the contract, $9.94 million, in the first year before decreasing to zero during the last three years of the contract.
