Here's why Gophers coach P.J. Fleck got that $1 million raise

Athletic director Mark Coyle gave his evaluation of the Gophers football season on the radio pregame show before the regular-season finale at Wisconsin.

"There's no question we had a missed opportunity," Coyle told sideline reporter Justin Gaard.

Most reasonable, objective observers would come to that same conclusion.

The Gophers went 8-4 without beating a team that finished the season with a winning record. Keeping Paul Bunyan's Axe provided a euphoric finish, but given roster experience and the Big Ten West's mediocrity, Coyle's assessment hit the mark.

So why did P.J. Fleck receive a $1 million raise this past week?

The fear of falling behind rivals in the never-relenting arms race. This is standard operating procedure in college sports in 2022.

You might hate that explanation. You might think a raise is unnecessary and unwarranted. But you should not be surprised by it, if you've been paying attention to the new world order that governs college athletics.

Every school is chasing a pacer in every facet: salaries, facilities, staffing, infrastructure, NIL (name, image and likeness) deals, student-athlete welfare, and more.

Fleck's contract extension — a seven-year deal through 2029 — highlights the underlying pressure to keep pace with rivals.

Fleck earned $5 million last season, which put him ninth among Big Ten coaches in annual salary, according to USA Today.

Newly hired coaches at Wisconsin (Luke Fickell) and Nebraska (Matt Rhule) received contracts with salaries ranging from $7.8 to $9 million. Both of those numbers are a tier higher than Fleck's 2022 number.

No Power Five program — especially those in the mega-wealthy Big Ten and SEC conferences — wants to lag significantly behind rivals in any area. That's bad business.

Again, this new reality might make you queasy, but this is how the game is played now.

If evaluated purely in a vacuum, Fleck's raise creates bad optics based solely on the results this season. But that's missing the point. The arms race doesn't operate inside a vacuum.

Fleck has elevated program standards and expectations to a level that people are disappointed by an 8-4 finish. That's progress, not a negative thing.

Fans are rightfully frustrated that Fleck's team has squandered multiple chances to win the West Division since 2019 when it also was there for the taking. His offensive philosophy absolutely must evolve before the program can ascend beyond this level.

Two facts can be true, though: Fleck's comment after the Wisconsin victory about people wanting him fired was an unnecessary overreaction to criticism of him, and a failure to continually invest in Fleck's program is a recipe for disaster.

The deal also provides an additional $1 million to the salary pool for Fleck's coaching staff — another acknowledgment that they were losing ground against rivals.

Nobody should be hit with sticker shock on coaches' contracts anymore. College sports are barely recognizable compared to 10 years ago. Revenue from TV pacts has created a titanic enterprise so flush with cash and minimal constraints that it feels like a weekend in Vegas.

There are projections that the Big Ten's new media rights deals will funnel up to $100 million to each school annually. Let's repeat that: $100 million, per school, every year.

Football is driving this runaway locomotive. TV contracts worth billions, conference realignment shakeups, an expanded playoff that will pour even more money into the coffers — this all stems from football's popularity.

For years the Gophers trailed the pack in their commitment to big-time football. They have closed that gap but cannot afford to pause as rivals keep feeding the football beast.