Chris Hampton will earn more as Oregon’s safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator than any of his three predecessors and he has the most substantial buyout to leave UO of any Ducks defensive assistant coach from at least the last five years.
Hampton signed a two-year contract through Jan. 2025 for $800,000 this year and $850,000 next year, according to documents released by UO in response to an open records request. That’s up from the $700,000 Matt Powledge earned last year, the $480,000 Marcel Yates earned in 2021 and $600,000 base salary, less a 10% reduction due to the pandemic, Keith Heyward earned in the position in 2020.
Hampton’s salary is the same as new offensive coordinator Will Stein, who signed a three-year contract through January 2026 with a $800,00 annual salary, and in line with past UO defensive coordinators Tim DeRuyter ($825,000 in 2021) and Andy Avalos ($765,000 in 2019, $815,000 less 10% in 2020). Current Ducks defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi is in the second year of a three-year contract worth $1.7 million annually.
“Whenever transition exists you look for opportunities to enhance your program and Chris is a like-minded individual I thought would mesh really well with our entire coaching staff,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “I think he’s a great coach, a phenomenal coach, really a lifelong learner of the game. He’s a guy that I’ve known from a somewhat distance over the years and been able to connect with from time to time, whether it’s talking ball and have a lot of admiration and respect for the job that he’s done. The closer we got to the hire the more apparent and clear it became that this is going to be somebody that’s going to make us a lot better, gets rave reviews from everywhere that he’s been and obviously did a phenomenal job this past season at Tulane. Certainly excited about what he brings to our program.”
Hampton’s contract and compensation while at Tulane last season was not publicly released because it’s a private school.
If Hampton were to leave Oregon before Jan. 31, 2024, he would owe UO 100% of his annual salary or 50% if he left before Jan. 31, 2025, unless he did so to become an FBS head coach. That’s up from the 25% of salary for Powledge’s buyout, which was waived if he become an FBS head coach or defensive coordinator with play-calling responsibilities, as he did at Baylor.
Should Oregon fire Hampton without cause before Jan. 31, 2025, his buyout is 70% of his remaining salary and if Dan Lanning were to leave UO, Hampton is owed 70% of a year’s salary or the remainder of his contract term, whichever is less, both the same as Powledge. There is an offset in either scenario.
The bonuses in Hampton’s contract are the same as Oregon’s assistant football coaches for the past several years. He can earn up to $125,000 in performance bonuses by qualifying for the Pac-12 Championship game ($10,000), winning the Pac-12 Championship Game ($15,000), competing in any bowl game with at least seven regular-season wins ($15,000), competing in a New Year’s Six game ($15,000), competing in a College Football Playoff semifinal ($10,000), winning a CFP semifinal ($25,000) and winning a CFP National Championship ($35,000). He is also eligible for an annual $5,000 bonus if the Ducks have an Academic Progress Rate score of at least 985.
He is also receiving a $35,000 signing bonus in lieu of reimbursement for relocation expenses, which Hampton will owe back in full if he leaves UO before Jan. 31, 2024.
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