The Compensation Committee of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the contract extension for head football coach Nick Saban on Tuesday.
The new deal, which Saban originally had agreed to in December, is for two additional years and will run through January of 2022. Saban will receive $6.5 million annually and the contract also contains a $400,000 completion bonus.
"We are pleased to announce that Coach Saban's contract extension has been approved and that he'll be our head football coach for many years to come," said Alabama director of athletics Bill Battle. "He is the best coach in the country and he's brought Alabama back to the pinnacle of college football."
Saban had previously been under contract through 2020 after receiving an extension in March of 2012.
"This agreement is a strong indication of our mutual commitment to building on the foundation he has established," said Battle.
The Crimson Tide are 79-15 since Saban was hired as head coach in 2007. He led them to FBS titles following the 2009, 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Still, whispers grew this past winter that he might leave to coach the University of Texas when Mack Brown and the Longhorns parted ways before the school eventually hired Charlie Strong.
"Alabama is where I plan to end my coaching career," Saban said in a statement announcing the agreement back in December.
Alabama was again perched atop the rankings this season until a shocking loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Nov. 30. Chris Davis' last-second field goal return knocked the Tide from the No. 1 spot in the BCS rankings, ruining their chances to win another championship.
Alabama (11-2), led by quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist AJ McCarron, was then stunned by Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2.
Saban, 62, has also coached Toledo, Michigan State and LSU and is one of only four coaches in the modern era to win four national titles. He also reached the top with LSU after the 2003 season.
[SportsNetwork.com]
