Cal finalizes head coach Tosh Lupoi's contract: 5 years, $22.1 million

More than 10 months after introducing Tosh Lupoi as its football head coach, Cal finally released a copy of Lupoi’s contract Friday. 

The deal covers five years and is worth at least $22.1 million. Lupoi will receive $275,000 annually in base salary and an “annual guaranteed talent fee” starting at $3.725 million in his first year, progressively rising to $4.725 million in Year 5. 

That means Lupoi will earn at least $4.1 million this season (including a $100,000 signing bonus) and $5 million for the fifth and final year of his contract, according to the document shared by the UC Berkeley Public Records Office. The Chronicle submitted a public records request for Lupoi’s contract on Jan. 23. 

The school similarly was slow to respond to requests for general manager Ron Rivera’s contract. Rivera, hired in March 2025 and now holding the title of athletic director and general manager of the football program, agreed to a three-year deal worth at least $2.4 million. 

In Lupoi’s case, the deal was finalized Oct. 1 – the date Lupoi, Rivera and UC Berkeley chancellor Rich Lyons all signed the 26-page document. 

Lupoi’s contract includes several potential bonuses, from $25,000 for the Bears winning six regular-season games to $500,000 if they went 12-0 in the regular season. Cal is 3-4 entering Saturday’s matchup against SMU in Dallas. 

If the Bears win seven regular-season games, Lupoi would earn a $125,000 bonus. If they run the table to reach eight wins, he would pocket an extra $200,000.

Other bonus clauses include $25,000 for a victory over Stanford in the Big Game; $40,000 if Cal appears in a bowl game; $50,000 if he’s named Atlantic Coast Conference or national coach of the year; and anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 based on the team’s Academic Progress Rate. 

Lupoi also would earn bonuses if the Bears qualified for the College Football Playoff, ranging from $150,000 for a first-round appearance to $750,000 if they won the national championship. 

Also worth noting: If Cal terminates Lupoi’s contract “without cause,” the school would owe him 80% of the remaining money due on his deal. For example, if he were fired after two seasons, Cal would owe him $11.4 million; if he were fired after four seasons, the “buyout” would be $4 million. 

If the opposite scenario unfolded, and Lupoi left Berkeley before the end of his contract, he would owe the school a progressively smaller amount – from $4 million before the 2027 season to $1 million before the 2030 season, the final year of the agreement. 

Lupoi, who grew up in the Bay Area and attended De La Salle High School in Concord, was a defensive lineman at Cal and served as an assistant coach at the school under Jeff Tedford. Lupoi had a long and successful journey as an assistant, including time at Washington and more recently as defensive coordinator at Alabama and Oregon. He also spent three seasons as a defensive line coach in the NFL. 

Cal has wobbled through the first seven games of Lupoi’s head-coaching tenure, with wins over Syracuse, Wagner and Virginia Tech and losses to UCLA, Clemson, UNLV and Wake Forest. Saturday’s game against SMU (5-1) presents a stout challenge, with the Mustangs ranked No. 23 in the nation. 

Lupoi curiously created a quarterback controversy, after starting Jackson Brousseau last week against Wake Forest even though original starter Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had been medically cleared to play. Sagapolutele left the UNLV game with a concussion and missed the Oct. 10 win over Virginia Tech.

Lupoi was coy about his quarterback plans this week, declining to name a starter ahead of the SMU game. Cal plays on the road again next week, at North Carolina State.

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This article originally published at Cal finalizes head coach Tosh Lupoi’s contract: 5 years, $22.1 million.