Auburn rewards Malzahn with 6-year contract

Auburn, AL (SportsNetwork.com) - Auburn has rewarded head football coach Gus Malzahn with a new six-year contract worth a total of $26.85 million.

The deal, which came on the eve of Auburn's SEC Championship Game appearance against Missouri, will pay him $3.85 million next season with raises of $250,000 each year following.

The new contract, announced Friday, replaces the five-year pact Malzahn signed last December.

"As I've said before, we want Coach Malzahn to be at Auburn for a long time," Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs said.

The Tigers finished 3-9 last season without Malzahn, but this season are 11-1 as SEC West champions. That includes two dramatic wins against Georgia and Alabama over the past couple weeks.

Last Saturday Auburn had maybe the most electric finish in college football history when Chris Davis fielded a missed field goal a yard short of the back of the end zone and used a convoy of blockers en route to a miraculous touchdown on the game's final play for a 34-28 win over then-No. 1 Alabama.

"A lot of programs would love to have Coach Malzahn, so this is a good move that allows him to continue taking Auburn football where our fans want it," stated Auburn president Dr. Jay Gogue. "I've consulted with the president pro tem of the Auburn Board, and he let me know that he supports it as well."

Malzahn was the offensive coordinator at Auburn in 2010 when the Tigers won the national championship. Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy that year.