The third consecutive season that’s seen Maryland football wilt in a big moment has amplified questions around the future of coach Mike Locksley.
Maryland’s performance against coach James Franklin and regional rival Virginia Tech, a 35-26 loss Sept. 19 that wasn’t as close as the score indicated, has led to increased calls across the state and University of Maryland community for Locksley to be fired.
“I understand why the fans are frustrated. They’ve earned the right for us to play better than we have. It won’t get fixed here at the podium. It get fixed across the street with the work we do,” he said Tuesday.
What would it cost the university to move on from Locksley? Financially, the waning years of his contract make that decision cheaper by the day, according to a Washington Times review of Locksley’s contract details obtained through a Maryland Public Information Act request.
Now in his eighth season, the 56-year-old District native has two years remaining on his current deal, signed in April 2022 by him, university President Darryl Pines and then-athletic director Damon Evans. This season was originally the final one of the contract, but the Terrapins reaching at least seven wins in 2022 and 2023 activated automatic, one-year extensions, keeping him tenured through the end of 2028.
Locksley’s annual base salary of $600,000 has remained unchanged since signing the deal in 2022. What has increased is what the university deems “supplemental annual income,” where most of his pay comes from.
Per the contract, that income is “in consideration for” television, radio and other media appearances produced by UMD, his participation in the school’s contract with Baltimore-based Under Armour as well as other products and gear used on the sidelines, and by making promotional and fundraising appearances on behalf of the university.
Initially, Locksley’s supplemental annual income was to increase by $100,000 each year under the terms of the 2022 deal. That figure was boosted to a $300,000 annual increase per amendments to the contract in March 2023 and October 2024, and stands at $5.8 million for this year.
Taken together, it places Lockley’s total compensation for the 2026 season at $6.4 million, not withstanding any potential postseason play or win markers, which would provide him with additional bonuses.
Locksley’s salary for the rest of this season is approximately $1.6 million as of Oct. 1, $6.7 million for 2027 and $7 million for 2028. Were the university to terminate Locksley’s contract, he would be owed 65% of his total remaining compensation, a total of approximately $9.95 million dollars.
Maryland would have to pay half of that money to Locksley in a lump sum within 60 days of termination, with the rest paid out in equal installments that coincide with the university’s regular payroll schedule through the 2028 end of his contract.
Locksley, who is 38-45 at Maryland since 2019, has acknowledged his team hasn’t performed up to what fans expect, pledging in multiple ways to “fix” what is wrong without getting into specifics.
“They’ve earned a better performance from us than what we gave them,” he said. “And the only way to get it back is to get back to the work.”
Athletic director Jim Smith publicly supported Locksley in the middle of what would be a season-ending, eight-game losing streak to end 2025, and seems to still have the coach’s back in his most recent public comments.
“You have to respect the fans and their frustration that they might be feeling,” Smith told WJZ-FM’s Vinny and Haynie Show Thursday, “but you can’t let it impact how you’re going to plan and run the program.”
Locksley is behind the eight ball to deliver, with the heart of the Big Ten Conference schedule ahead, including two-straight weeks on the road at Nebraska Oct. 3 and No. 7 Ohio State Oct. 10. The Terrapins are a combined 1-8 in October in the last three seasons, making it hard for the program to keep interest in September from turning to apathy.
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