Vols lock up Fulmer, Pearl with new deals through 2014

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee signed football coach Phillip Fulmer and basketball coach Bruce Pearl to new deals Wednesday that will keep them with the Volunteers through 2014.

Fulmer's deal is worth an average of nearly $3 million over the next seven seasons, and the nearly $1 million raise makes him the fourth-highest paid coach in the Southeastern Conference.

He will get $2.4 million for the upcoming season and his salary escalates to $3.3 million in 2014 with automatic raises of $150,000 annually. Fulmer will also receive raises for achieving certain goals, such as an additional $350,000 for winning an SEC championship or an additional $850,000 raise for winning a national championship.

Fulmer would receive $1 million longevity bonus in December 2012, which would be his 20th anniversary as head coach.

"I am really proud of our university's commitment to myself and my staff and support group," he said. "I love my job, I love these kids and I love the University of Tennessee."

The pay increase keeps Fulmer, 57, in the middle of the SEC coaching pack when it comes to salaries.

"It's an extremely competitive football league, and I am convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt that in any given year ... we're capable of winning a national championship," Tennessee men's athletic director Mike Hamilton said.

Fulmer has a 147-45 record and is coming of an SEC Eastern Division title. His new contract includes several guaranteed raises and extensions based on his team's success.

An SEC Eastern Division title earns a $100,000 raise along with his annual $150,000 base pay increase. A BCS bowl appearance without winning the SEC would earn $150,000 more, an SEC title $350,000 more and a national championship $850,000. Those raises would not be combined in a single season; only the raise for the top achievement is given.

For every eight-win season, he'll receive an extra year on his contract.

Fulmer was on vacation and not immediately available for comment.

Hamilton indicated the built-in pay raises for reaching certain benchmarks might prevent the need to renegotiate Fulmer's contract every year as has become the expectation.

Fulmer's base salary is worth $375,000. The rest of his compensation comes from media commitments, equipment and apparel fees and product endorsements.