The Josh Innes Show - Curt Cignetti...Rich Dude.

Episode Date: October 17, 2025

Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti will remain Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti for many, many years. He will also be very, very rich. If you told your grandpa that Indiana Football was #3 in the country and that the coach was making 11 million a year, he'd be blown away. What a story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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responsibly. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. All right. It's fascinating. This Kurt Signetti, who is the coach at Indiana, and apparently is going to remain the coach at Indiana because he just signed an eight-year extension. Old buddy's getting paid. And who would have thought that there'd ever come a time that the coach at Indiana would be a coach getting paid like 10 mil a year and signing an eight-year extension? But as you know, James Franklin got fired earlier this week, and there's going to be some prime gigs that are opened up in college football. Arkansas is open. Florida may open up as early as this weekend.

Who knows, like, time is ticking. I mean, it's just it's a matter of if or when, not if. I mean, there are good gigs. UCLA, if you consider that a good gig is open, like Arkansas. There are legit gigs that are open, and who knows what other ones are going to pop open here by the end of the year. And Kirk Signetti is one of these guys that has gotten a lot of. attention. They went 11 and 2 last year. They went to the college football playoff. So they were a sexy team and Signetti's, a name that continued to get mentioned. I would imagine he is someone

that Penn State at least had some interest in. But at this point, Indiana says, nah, we're dedicated to football. What world is this? Did you ever think you'd see a world where Indiana football, one of the worst football programs, if not the worst Division I major football program? and history, and I think statistically it might be. Did you ever think you'd see a day where Indiana would be paying a coach like $10 million a year because teams from like Penn State are trying to woo the guy away? Like, what is this world?

Let's play a couple commercials and get into it. Yeah, that never seemed to be a thing that would even cross my mind. Like back when Jerry DeNardo was coaching Indiana in the early 2000s, It's the same thing with Vanderbilt, right? Like schools like Vanderbilt and schools like Indiana. Now, I don't know how much they're going to be able to pay Clark Lee at Vanderbilt. He might be a guy who eventually leaves and goes somewhere else. But schools like Indiana, Vanderbilt, those are feeder programs historically.

Like, think of the number of schools that Vanderbilt has fed. Like SMU back in the late 80s, early 90s with Bobby, what's his fuck? They fed to from Vanderbilt to SMU. You had Jerry DeNardo go from Vanderbilt to LSU. You've had James Franklin go from Vanderbilt to Penn State. You had, I mean, you just go down the list of guys that made the jump from successful, or at least Vanderbilt successful, to being a major college coach somewhere. Like Vanderbilt has always been a feeder program.

Now you look at Vanderbilt. They're facing LSU, a school that pays their coach like $11 million a year. Vanderbilt is favored this weekend and home against LSU. LSU pays their coach $10,11 million a year. Vanderbilt's a feeder program that gives their good coaches to other schools, and that school is favored over LSU this weekend. You look at Indiana. Indiana is one of the biggest jokes in the history of college sports,

the Indiana football program. And here they are paying, you know, I think what the number I saw was was 10. I think on average it's a $10 million a year deal. Signetti's contract now runs through 2033 and will have an average annual a compensation of approximately 11.6 million over eight years. Think about this. The Indiana football coach has an eight-year extension that pays him $12 million a year. Holy shit.

The world, like dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria. Now, I don't know if that's front-loaded, back-loaded, incentive-based or what? But the world of NIL, and more importantly, the world of expanded college football playoff is going to open the door for schools like Indiana to pay more money for guys because those schools are going to start having the opportunity to be more successful because you can buy players now. And there's not a stigma. Like, sure, is it sexier to go to Florida, Alabama, LSU, Michigan? Sure. But now, like, even 20 years ago, you started to see it because you'd start seeing like all these schools that had so much extra talent that schools like, you know, like, South Florida would have years where they'd win like 10 games.

And like there was a year, I think it was 2007. There was a year that every other week there was a new number two team in the country. And one week at South Florida, and you're like, how is South Florida the number two team in the country? Well, South Florida was getting a bunch of players that were either transferring or that Miami and Florida didn't go get because they just didn't have any room for them. And then those guys became great players at schools like South Florida. And I think you're going to see more of that. It's obvious because guys are bouncing from place to place. And if you've got money and you've got boosters that want to spend money,

money. You can get good players and you can go from being a shithouse program like Indiana to being a program that now is beating Oregon and beating top 10 teams now consistently, a team that's in the driver's seat to get into the college football playoff, a school that's paying their coach $11.5 million in a year on average. Like, what world is this? Like, that's the world that the NIL is cool. Like the part about the NIL that I hate and the part about the portal that I hate is guys just bounce from place to place to place and it turns me off. There's no such thing as quote unquote loyalty. You don't see that as much anymore. And maybe that's naive and maybe I sound Pollyanna when I say that, but it's true. You don't see that same level of

loyalty and you don't feel the same commitment to players because so many guys are hired guns and that part of it sucks. But the good thing about NIL is that if you're someone who's watched Indiana football your whole life and all you've thought is, boy, I just can't wait until basketball starts, now you've got Kurt Signetti and you're out winning football games 11, 12 at a time a pop over the course of a season and are a threat to go to the college football playoff, that's fucking fun for you. If you're Vanderbilt, you're favored against LSU. This is the first time in all these matchups that Vanderbilt has played top five teams

or top 10 teams. This is the first time I think they've ever been favored. It's nuts. And I keep bringing up NIL, and NIL is a huge part of that. But the other big part of that is the college football playoffs. Because if you want to get exposure now, you don't have to go just to Alabama or just to Florida or just to Georgia or just to LSU. Now you can go to these places like Indiana and have the chance to get into the college football playoff. You can go to Arizona State and have a chance to get into the college football playoff.

You can go to SMU and have a chance to get into the college football playoff. So yes, the NIL is a huge part of that. And yes, the transfer portal is a huge part of that. But can you imagine a universe where the hot. The modest coaching commodity on the planet is the coach at Indiana. And Indiana says, we're not letting him get away. Here's $11 million to keep you from going to Penn State or to keep you from going to Arkansas or wherever. Think about how bonkers that is.

Think about the world that we're currently living in. This is a fucking crazy world, kids. And I'm here for it. Again, I hate the transfer portal. And I hate that these guys are just allowed to go from place to place with no constant. I think that's bad. I think that teaches bad things to young people. I do. Maybe that sounds again like a lame-o, but I think that that's not a good precedent to set. That's not a good, that's not a good example to set for people. And it's just not fair. I live in a world where I have

a contract. You want to hear? Like, so, like, I have a three-year contract here. I can't just say, hey, fuck you guys, I'm leaving. I signed a contract, and that's part of it. And, like, and by the way, fun fact, like, since I got this. job, now I get calls from people that are like, hey, you want to come work for us? I'm like, nope, I can't. I got a three-year deal here. I signed here. Where were you five months ago, friend? When nobody wanted to call me for a job. Nobody wanted to call me for a job five months ago. I'm fortunate to have this job, and I'm very loyal to these people because they're the only ones that actually said, hey, let's bring him in. And it took a while, but they got the deal done.

But like, I got a call the other day from somebody. There would have been a very sexy situation, a situation that a lot of you listening would have been like, oh, I got a call from someone. They're like, so what's your situation, man? Like, we want to hire you. I'm like, I have a three-year fucking deal in Detroit. Like, where were you five months ago? What changed in your feelings of me from five months ago to now that you're like, hey, we want to bring you in? You know, like, that's the kind of world this is.

But like, I can't just up and leave. I can't walk to my boss today and go, hey, I know I just signed a three-year deal with you guys, but I just got this better offer, go fuck yourself. I can't do that. But again, and I don't know, like, this isn't like the college football world where there are buyouts and shit. I guess in theory I could say, hey, if you guys like me that much, you can buy out my contract. But like, again, that's much larger than what this situation is. That's not going to happen.

But like, it's the same situation with these college players. That's the part that annoys me the most is they can just go from place to place and there's no actual consequence. Like, oh, you played at LSU this year. The next year you play at Florida and the next year after that you played Indiana. Cool. No, there should be some level of consequence for doing that. And I get the argument. Well, what about the coaches that have always been able to job here to year, blah, blah, blah.

Fine. That's cool. Fine argument. But it doesn't change the fact that I feel like you're not getting true relationships built with your players in these places as a fan because they bounce from place to place. And I understand how lame that sounds. And I understand I sound like a jamoke. And I respect that you think I sound like a jamoke. But that's how I feel about it.

But as someone who works in the media world, again, I have a three-year deal to work here in Detroit. Now, they can fire me tomorrow if they want and only have to pay a certain amount of time for the contract. Again, it's an unfair way it's set up. I can't just tell them, hey, go fuck yourself tomorrow. But like, I've gotten calls fascinatingly enough, if that's a word, it's fascinating enough. No one called me for a year while I was out of work. I reached out to people. Did not get return phone calls?

now that I have a job that's something about it's the same thing when like chicks were never interested in you until you got a girlfriend and then once you had a girlfriend chicks all wanted to bang mysteriously and it's the same way with this same way with that like I'm sitting there and I know it's kind of off topic here but these people want to hire you they're like we love you man we want to hire you where were you five months ago where were you when I was driving fucking door dash in February where were you when I was sending random feelers out to the PD here in Detroit, and they're like, well, hey, maybe we got something for you back in February. These people were not calling me then. It was not happening. But now they call you. And like legit cities, too. At legit places, places that some of you listening would go, I wish you'd take that fucking job.

But I can't. I'm not saying I even want to, but I certainly can't because I got a deal. And it's the same. That's why I get mad when I see these players that can go from place to place to place to place. and there's no consequence, there's no sitting out. There's none of that, and that part annoys me. But what a weird world we live in, where the coach at Indiana football is getting paid $11.5 million average, so who knows if he's getting 11 next year or whatever, it could be

a backloaded deal where if they fire him, I'm sure there's a lot of outs for them in these deals too. All we know is the average annual compensation. But it's fucking giant. I think this guy's making the right choice as well because this is your program. You have built this program. You have now elevated it to a point where it's going to be hard to fire you

because you've made this world. So even if you only win nine games next year, it's your program. It's nine wins that they weren't getting before. Like this is your baby. You leave this and go to Penn State and go nine and four or nine and two a couple of times. They'll want to fire you. In Indiana, you stay there and win nine games every year. you're a God every now and then sneak into the college football

playoff discussion, they'll love you there. Why waste your time going to a place that just fired a guy that was three points away from the national championship last year? Why would you take that job over this job? And then you see your people are so anxious to keep you that they get a deal done quickly. Like, there's no reason. There would never be a reason for you to leave and go to Penn State. Penn State had a coach that was in the college football playoff

and three points away from a title game appearance last year. They fired him. You want to leave what you've built there at Indiana so you can go deal with that shit? Fuck, no. You're a god in Indiana now. Go be a god in Indiana. That's what the legends did back in the day. It gets a different world.

But that's what the Joe Paternos did. And that's what the Bobby Bowdens did. That's what the Bear Bryant did. Although Bear coached in a couple of places, but you get the point. Like, they stayed in these places that they built. You have the opportunity to do that. And it's pretty fucking cool. Write it out, brother.