Mike Elko is a professional football coach. He is estimated to have a net worth of $10-$15 million as of 2023. Elko made the most of his income via his coaching career at several colleges. His latest massive deal at Texas A&M will undoubtedly raise his value in the future years. His other two large contracts were with Duke University and Texas A&M (during his first stay).
Michael Elko, also known as Mike Elko, was born on July 28, 1977, in South Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. Elko graduated from South Brunswick High School in 1995. He was the quarterback for the football team at his school. Later in his career, he was a safety at the University of Pennsylvania. Following his undergraduate studies, he began working as a graduate assistant at Stony Brook University. Elko returned to his alma university as a defensive back coach in 2000. Similarly, he has held positions as a defensive coordinator, linebacker, defensive back, and assistant head coach at several universities. After his initial tenure as a defensive coordinator at Texas A&M, he will take over as head coach at Duke for the first time in 2022. Elko returned to Texas A&M as head coach for the 2024 season on November 27, 2023.
Mike Elko’s Salary and Contract
The American football coach is said to have a net worth of between $10 and $15 million. Elko began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Stony Brook and quickly rose to become the head coach. His early coaching career at Merchant Marine, Fordham, Richmond, Hofstra, Bowling Green, and Wake Forest is clouded in mystery. There is no information available on his contracts with these organizations. Mike signed with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2017 and was allegedly paid $1,486,376 in total, including a one-time payment of $494,666. He left Notre Dame after only one year to become the defensive coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. Elko was compensated $178,644 after leaving the Fighting Irish squad.
Elko allegedly had a three-year contract with the Aggies that paid him an average of $1.8 million each year. Likewise, Duke hired Mike as head coach and paid him $3.5 million per year. Now, the 2022 ACC Coach of the Year has returned to Texas A&M for a second tenure, allegedly signing a six-year, $42 million contract.
Breakdown of His Texas A&M Contract
Mike Elko took over as head coach after the Aggies sacked Jimbo Fisher in November 2023. Elko’s deal is for six years and is for $42 million in total, with a yearly compensation of $7 million. The buyout terms are flat-rate percentage-based, with a 75% buyout for Years 1-3 and an 80% buyout for Years 4-6. The agreement includes a $11,000,000 compensation pool for employees. Elko will also receive $100,000 for each participation in the SEC Championship Game. Texas A&M has laid up playoff incentives, each of which will result in an automatic one-year contract extension for Elko.
These incentives include a $1 million bonus for making the College Football Playoff (CFP), a $1.5 million bonus for reaching the CFP Quarterfinals, or an SEC title. Similarly, $2 million for reaching the CFP Semifinals, $2.5 million for reaching the CFP National Championship Game, and $3.5 million for winning the CFP National Championship.
